Dreams of Destiny
by hitobashira
Summary: Ranma/SM x-over Ranma returns to Tokyo with a heavy heart after the events at Jusenkyo. All he wants is to find his way home, but that's more complicated than he thinks
1. prologue

Dreams of Destiny  
  
1 Prologue  
  
The sun shone down on the city, basking it in the warmth of a late spring day, giving off a cheerful, peaceful ambiance. This mood was completely at odds with the way that a certain teenaged boy felt as he trudged wearily along the streets, radiating sadness and determination. He stopped abruptly and slipped the backpack off his shoulders as he dug in his pocket, coming up with a slip of paper. He stared at it for a moment and then at the nameplate on the low wall surrounding the small house, his brow furrowing in confusion. Finally, he shrugged, hefted his pack again and entered through the narrow gate. He walked hesitantly up to the door and rang the bell. The door opened slowly, a young girl appearing in the doorway.  
  
* * *  
  
Ami Mizuno rushed down the stairs from her room when she heard the doorbell ring. She swung open the door, expecting it to be one of her friends stopping by, but received a shock when she saw a handsome young man with the saddest eyes she had ever seen standing on her front step.  
  
"Umm… Can I help you?" Ami asked, feeling a little flustered by the strange boy's gaze.  
  
"I'm looking for a Mrs. Saotome," the young man answered slowly in a rough voice. "The address I found for her said that this was where she lived, but I noticed the nameplate read Mizuno."  
  
"I'm sorry," Ami answered, "but I don't know any Saotomes around here and I've lived in this house for my whole life."  
  
"Oh," the boy said, seeming to deflate. "Well, I'm sorry to bother you like this. I'll be on my way now."  
  
Ami had always been a gentle girl and she could never stand to see anyone or anything in pain, a trait she shared with her friend Usagi. Both of them were a soft touch for someone in pain. Ami could feel great pain and despair radiating from the young man in front of her like heat from an oven. Before he could turn away, she asked, "What's your name?"  
  
"Ranma. Ranma Saotome," he replied.  
  
"Is this Mrs. Saotome that you're looking for a relative?" Ami asked.  
  
"Yeah, she's my mother. Only I haven't seen her in nearly ten years," Ranma said, his eyes misting slightly. "I had hoped to find her here, but since she's not, I won't bother you anymore." He turned to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Ami shouted. Ranma started and turned back toward her in surprise. Ami felt something strange. She knew that she couldn't just let this boy wander on his own. There was no telling what might happen to him. After all, the streets weren't safe with the Deathbusters and their Daimons running around. "Why don't you come in for a little while?" Ami offered. "My mother will be home from the hospital soon. Maybe she knows where you can find your mother. Besides, you look like you could use something hot to eat."  
  
Ranma's face perked up a bit at the mention of food, but he still looked hesitant. 'If you're sure it would be okay…" he began.  
  
"I don't see why it would be a problem," Ami replied. "My name is Ami Mizuno. Why don't you come on inside?" As she spoke, Ami opened the door wide to allow Ranma into the house. Ranma stepped inside hesitantly, lowering his pack to the floor as he bent over to take off his shoes. Ami moved past him into the house and ushered him into the living room and seated him on the couch. "Wait here, while I get you something to eat," she said.  
  
Ranma watched Ami as she disappeared into the kitchen, his stomach rumbling quietly at the prospect of a hot meal. It had been over two weeks since he'd had a hot meal. That had been from that nice sensei who lived in Kyoto. He had let him stay with him for a couple of days and had helped him understand a few of the scrolls he had found in his Oyaji's pack. Thinking about Oyaji brought other memories to the surface. Painful ones that Ranma ruthlessly pushed down. I'll deal with them when I find her, he thought.  
  
Ami entered the kitchen and headed straight for the refrigerator. She knew that there were plenty of leftovers in there. She pulled out a couple of plates and stuck them in the microwave, thankful for the speed with which it could reheat the leftovers. When it was ready, Ami put the food on a plate and scooped a bowl of the rice that she had prepared for dinner out of the steamer for Ranma. She prepared Ranma some tea as well, sensing that he could use the warmth. Gathering the food together, Ami carried it out to the table on a tray, where Ranma sat waiting patiently. Ami snagged a pair of chopsticks that they used for guests and handed them to him. Ranma dug into the food with gusto. Ami was amazed. Either the boy hadn't eaten in days, or he was an eater on a comparable level with Usagi. No. He was faster than Usagi. Not even Usagi could have polished that much food off in less than half a minute.  
  
Ranma sighed and leaned back as he finished the last of his food. "That was good," Ranma said smiling. "I haven't had anything like that in a while."  
  
"It was just some leftovers," Ami stammered, a slow blush creeping up her cheeks as she looked at Ranma. Wow, she thought. He really is cute. But I can't let myself feel like this, I hardly know anything about him. "So, Ranma, you said you're looking for your mother," Ami began. "Where did you live before?"  
  
"I've never really lived in any one place for very long. Me and Oyaji were always moving around, looking for some new place to train at," Ranma said, hanging his head, so that his bangs hid the glistening threat of tears.  
  
"So where's your father then," Ami asked, feeling a little confused.  
  
"He's dead," Ranma said in a flat voice that sucked the questions right out of Ami's mouth. I had no idea, she thought, horrified at her tactless question. It must have been really hard on him too, from the way he's repressing his grief like that.  
  
"So that's why you're looking for your mother, then," Ami said softly. Ranma nodded jerkily in response, still unwilling to look Ami in the face. An awkward silence fell over the two of them, one that neither of them was willing to break.  
  
"Ami, I'm home," came a call from the door. Ami and Ranma both started at the sound of the voice and Ami rose quickly to her feet to go greet her mother.  
  
Ranma rose slowly, aware that this woman could either be the end of his long search, or just another dead end. He prayed that she would know where his mother was. He hadn't seen her since he had been five years old and ten years had blurred his memories of her until all he could remember was a warm and comforting presence. Completely different from Oyaji's bluster and insults… Ranma clamped down on that line of thought. Thinking about the old man brought the grief up from where he'd locked it down, and a real man should be able to control his own feelings, not let them control him. What would his mother think of a son who wept whenever he thought about what had happened? He turned to greet the woman that was entering the room with Ami.  
  
* * *  
  
Ami ran down the hallway as he mother finished taking off her shoes. Her mother looked up at her and smiled. "Having a friend over?" she asked casually. She had always expressed her worry over Ami's lack of friends, and had been much happier since Ami had started hanging out with Usagi and the others.  
  
Ami shook her head. "No, Mother. We have a visitor. He said he's looking for a Mrs. Saotome."  
  
"Really," Dr. Mizuno said interestedly. Very few people had ever come looking for the Saotomes. Most of them had been people she had been more than happy to send on their way with the knowledge that they no longer lived here, but something about the way Ami spoke told Dr. Mizuno that this time would be different.  
  
Dr. Mieko Mizuno stepped into her living room as the young man sitting at the table rose to his feet. Immediately, Dr. Mizuno sensed that this young man was under a great deal of stress and desperately needed to release it. She motioned for Ranma to sit down and sat on the couch across from him. "So, I understand that you're looking for a Mrs. Saotome," she said. "May I ask why?"  
  
"She's my mother," Ranma said bluntly. "My name is Ranma Saotome and I don't have anywhere else left to go."  
  
'You're Ranma!" Dr. Mizuno exclaimed in surprise. Ami jumped a little at her mother's shout. She hadn't been expecting a reaction like this.  
  
Dr. Mizuno leaned over the table looking closely at Ranma. Yes, she thought. I can definitely see some of Nodoka in the boy. A lot of Genma too, unfortunately. "Where is your father, Ranma," she asked glancing at Ami when she heard a sharp intake of breath. She turned back to see Ranma's hung head as he answered.  
  
"He's dead," Ranma choked out. Dr. Mizuno's heart went out to the boy. Although she herself had never felt any fondness for Genma Saotome, she knew what it was like to lose a parent. Especially if it was the only parent you've ever known. Oh no, she thought. If he's already lost Genma, what's he going to do when he hears about Nodoka?  
  
"I'm sorry, Ranma," she said softly. "I know it's hard to lose a parent. That's what makes this even tougher for me." Ranma gave her a questioning look with his glistening eyes. Dr. Mizuno could see the effort Ranma was making in trying to hold back the tears. She fully expected the dams to burst when she told him. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Ranma, but your mother is dead." 


	2. chapter 1

Dreams of Destiny  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
  
"She's dead," Ranma said numbly, the words resounding over and over again in his mind. If his mother was dead, then he had no one left. He was all alone in the world. Unless he could find her that is, but he doubted that he would find her now. Not after he had looked for her all for so long. But, what else did he have to do with the rest of his life? Steeling himself, he pushed the grief that had stormed the walls of his resolve at the news of his mother's death back down and took control of himself. Ranma rose to his feet and bowed to Dr. Mizuno. "Thank you for telling me, ma'am. I appreciate it. Now if you'll excuse me, I should be on my way. I don't want to be a bother."  
  
Ranma only managed a step before he was stopped by Dr. Mizuno's hand on his arm. He turned back to look at her. "Where are you going?" she asked.  
  
"Since my mother is no longer here, I have no reason to be here," Ranma said coolly. He was very proud of himself for his control at that moment, but he could sense that it was slipping. If he didn't leave soon, he would wind up breaking down in front of complete strangers. He wouldn't do that again. Ever.  
  
"Ranma, you don't have to go," Dr. Mizuno said, looking into his anguished eyes. "Your mother was my sister, Ranma, and that means you're family. You'll always be welcome here."  
  
Ranma gazed into her eyes, disbelieving her acceptance. "Why are you so accepting," he asked, his voice starting to crack. "Why would you want a freak like me in your house?"  
  
"You're not a freak, Ranma," Dr. Mizuno replied. "You're just a young man who's lost both his parents in a short period of time."  
  
"That's right, you don't know yet," Ranma said, pulling his arm free of his aunt's grip and reaching for the now cooled tea that had been sitting on the table and upending it over his head. "Now you can see what a freak I am," Ranma whispered hoarsely as a tear flowed unwittingly down his face.  
  
* * *  
  
Mieko Mizuno had seen many things in her life. Her sister had been married to a martial artist who had been able to do things that defied scientific explanation (even if he was an absolute moron and a waste of flesh in general) and he had been the student of a shriveled gnome who had been known to break certain laws of physics on an hourly basis. Hell, she'd been living in Juuban long enough for the constant demon attacks to seem commonplace. But this one made her wonder if she'd finally gone over the deep end.  
  
Ranma, her long missing nephew, finally coming back into her life after a ten year absence bearing news of his father's death, she could accept. Her tall, broad shouldered, handsome nephew turning into a buxom, and very well-endowed redhead pushed the limits of even her comprehension. Her mind, seeking a strategic retreat where it could correlate this new phenomenon, shut itself down, leaving the body to follow as she slumped to the couch in a faint.  
  
* * *  
  
Ami Mizuno was no stranger to the unusual either. Unknown to her mother, Ami had been fighting evil as the Sailor Suited Soldier for Love and Justice, Sailor Mercury, for the past year. She'd seen all kinds of monsters and demons and just plain nasty, evil people. But she'd never seen a boy – a very handsome boy, whom her mother had just revealed as her long-lost cousin - –turn into a girl with the application of a cold liquid.  
  
Ami's mind was hardwired a little differently than her mother's. Instead of going into overload at this odd occurrence, she started trying to analyze the facts and the first thing to be done was to see if this was real and not some kind of weird illusion.  
  
"Could you please not do that," Ranma asked, his voice having shifted up an octave with his sex change. Ami looked down and saw that her hand was squeezing one of his breasts, as her body was already acting out her decision to figure this out.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ami said, blushing furiously. That definitely felt like a real breast, so that means the shape change is real, but how? And where does all the extra mass go? He's at least six inches shorter than he was and I'm sure he probably weighs at least 20 kilos less. Isn't that supposed to be impossible.  
  
"'salright," Ranma mumbled, blushing a little himself. That had felt somewhat pleasurable, which wasn't something he was used to associating with his cursed form. "I'm kinda used to it. No one believes they're real the first time and they always try and poke 'em or something like that to make sure."  
  
"So, Ranma. How, umm … How did this happen," Ami asked, a little hesitantly.  
  
"It's all Oyaji's fault," Ranma replied, looking down trying to fight off the wave of pain that telling this dug up. "We went to this place in China called Jusenkyo. Was supposed to be some kinda Martial Arts training ground. Called the Valley of the Cursed Springs. It's called that for good reason, as I had good cause to find out." Ranma sat back down heavily and rested his chin on his hands, angling it down low enough that his scarlet bangs shadowed his eyes.  
  
"So this is Genma's fault," Dr Mizuno said, sitting up abruptly from where she had slumped over in her chair. Somehow that doesn't surprise me, she thought as she moved over to the couch and put a supporting arm around Ranma. "Tell me what happened."  
  
"'Kay," Ranma replied, a little startled at the unaccustomed gesture of support, but unwilling to move away from the comfort it offered. "We got to the valley and there were a bunch of springs covering one end of it. They had bamboo poles sticking up out of them, meant to be stood on by fighters while they fought in mid-air. Loser falls in the pool sort of thing. This pudgy guy started jabbering at us about how dangerous the place was, that we shouldn't be here, but Oyaji didn't listen. He just yelled for me to follow and jumped up on one of the poles. We started fighting and I knocked Oyaji into one of the pools. He stayed down for a long time and then a huge panda jumped out of the pool and attacked me. It surprised the hell outta me, but I managed to send it flying into another pool, but then the pole I was standing on cracked and sent me tumbling in the pool after the panda. I landed on top of it and forced it down into the water. When I broke the surface, I could tell something was wrong. I looked down and saw these," Ranma gestured to his prominent chest.  
  
"The guy who tried to warn us off, who happened to be the guide and caretaker of the valley, came up and told me that I had fallen in the Nyannichiuan or Spring of Drowned Girl. It was a very tragic story of a girl drowning there fifteen hundred years ago. He looked down in the pool beneath me and started jabbering in Chinese again, and when I looked, there was Oyaji at the bottom of the pool and he wasn't moving. I dived down and managed to drag him to the surface, but it was too late. He had already drowned. The guide said that he had fallen in the Spring of Drowned Panda, but that when he had drowned in the pool below me, he had regained his original form. These curses don't last after you die. He showed me how to change back to normal using hot water and warned me about the fact that I'll attract cold water like crazy from now on to activate the curse. Then he helped me to take care of Oyaji's … body …"  
  
Despite Ranma's resolution to not break down, the memory of cremating his father's remains was something that made him lose control. Tears started leaking down his face as he told the story and he broke down in sobs as he came to the end. Dr. Mizuno tightened her arm around Ranma's shoulder and pulled him towards her, letting Ranma cry into her shoulder, while she enveloped the child in a hug.  
  
Ami sat there quietly trying to figure out exactly when she had stepped into the twilight zone as her cousin cried his heart out into her mother's shoulder. Springs that could cause some kind of sex change was a little odd even for Ami's jaded mind. It doesn't matter how impossible it sounds, Ami thought. All that matter is that he's family and he needs us. Ami got up and moved over next to Ranma, sat down on the other side of him from her mother and encircled both Ranma and her mother in a hug.  
  
"It's alright, Ranma," Ami whispered as she rested her head against the boy-turned-girl's back. "It wasn't your fault. No one blames you for anything. We're your family and we love you."  
  
Dr. Mizuno smiled as her daughter said that. Ami had always been very shy and their family had been the just the two of them for years. There was something about Ranma, though, that drew you in and made you care for him immediately. Some kind of innate charisma, mixed with terrible grief that made your heart ache in sympathy.  
  
As Ranma's sobs gave way to hoarse breathing, Dr. Mizuno pushed him back far enough to allow her to look into his eyes and said, "Ranma, you are going to stay here. With both your parents dead, I am your only living adult relative and as soon as we file your father's death certificate, I'll be your guardian. I want you to be here with us. I know you've never really had much of a family life with all the traveling around you did, but that's going to change. You will stay here with us and you'll go to school and get an education."  
  
Ranma just stared at his aunt with wide eyes. He couldn't believe that she was willing to accept him after he had shown her his curse. Despite his best efforts, Ranma could feel a warmth trickle down his face. Rubbing his hand across his cheeks, he brushed the offending tears away. Dr Mizuno saw how strongly her affirmation of support was affecting Ranma and pulled him into a hug, cradling his head against her shoulder.  
  
At this unfamiliar gesture of maternal affection, the dams broke and sixteen years worth of unshed tears broke free as Ranma began to sob uncontrollably into his aunt's shoulder, feeling for the first time in his life what it might have been like to have a mother. 


	3. chapter 2

Dreams of Destiny  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Ranma leaned against his aunt's shoulder until the tears stopped flowing. He'd only had one person that he'd ever allowed see him cry like that, but there was no reason to hide himself from his family. He didn't have to hide his tears like he did when he was traveling with Oyaji anymore. Whenever he needed a good cry, he now had someone to turn to. Someone real. Besides, crying like that had felt good. Like he'd had a weight lifted off his shoulders. What was weird, though , was that it felt natural for him to let it out when he was a girl.  
  
"Ranma," Ami said derailing his train of thought. He hadn't noticed that she had let go of him at some point and was now standing in the hallway. "Could you come and get your pack? I thought I could take it up to the spare bedroom for you, but it's too heavy."  
  
Ranma chuckled and stood up, stretching out the kinks in his back that leaning against his aunt's shoulder had given him and rubbing the salt out of his eyes. He moved past Ami into the foyer where he had left that pack and hefted it up to his shoulder in an easy, fluid motion. "So where did you want me to put it."  
  
Ami stared at Ranma, slightly surprised to see such a petite girl heft such a heavy bag. Ranma didn't even look like he was straining at all to hold it up. I have to scan him with the Mercury Computer, she thought. Maybe I can come up with some way to fix his curse. Also, I need to find out how he got so strong! "The spare room's upstairs. Here, I'll show you."  
  
As Ami led Ranma up the stairs to put his pack in his new room, Dr. Mizuno watched them with the practiced eye of a worried parent. Ranma was going to be difficult to take care of. He was still carrying a lot of grief and dealing with that wouldn't be easy. If she knew Genma, he'd probably done his level best to instill his pig-headed and chauvinistic attitudes in the poor boy. She'd have to work around that and this curse of his as well. Changing from a handsome young man into an incredibly young woman was going to play havoc with Ranma's sense of self. How was she supposed to deal with something like that?  
  
* * *  
  
After being shown where his room was, Ami pushed Ranma towards the bathroom. "I don't want to be mean about this," she said, "but you stink. Take a bath and change into some clean clothes, we'll be having dinner soon and you can tell us some more about yourself."  
  
"Thanks," Ranma said with a small smile as he stepped into the bathroom and started the bath filling.  
  
After Ami encouraged Ranma to clean up, she dashed into her room and pulled the Mercury Computer out of the back of her desk drawer. She'd decided long ago to keep it hidden to prevent any awkward questions from her mother. She had been keeping it set on a passive scan, trying to pinpoint where the Daimon activity was coming from, but she hoped it had managed to pick up information on Ranma's transformation.  
  
Scanning back through the logs, she spotted an energy spike that the Mercury Computer listed as a Chaotic Transfiguration. Accessing the archives, Ami looked up that reference.  
  
Chaotic Transfiguration: An uncontrollable magical transfiguration brought about by contact with a Chaotic Magic Source. Common Chaotic Magic Sources tend to be connected with bodies of water. Warning: Do not attempt to remove Transfiguration Curses with other types of Magic. Chaotic Magic warps the affect of other Magics and the results are wildly unpredictable and often dangerous. See: Aphrodite's Well, Elysian Fountain, Jusenkyo, Pool of Kronos.  
  
Ami toggled the entry for Jusenkyo, curious that these places had existed long enough for the Mercury Computer to actually have them recorded.  
  
Jusenkyo: Also called the Cursed Springs of Sorrow. Consists of a number of pools (Between 30 and 100 at any given time) that contain various water controlled transfiguration curses. Jusenkyo is the only natural wellspring of Chaos Magic on Earth. People are warned to stay away from the area as the curses cannot be cured. Applying a different cursed water results in a merging of the curses. Also, natives in the area are extremely hostile and powerful. See: Jokesetzu, Musk, Phoenix Tribe.  
  
  
  
Ami stared at the little screen as the information lay there. Poor Ranma, Ami thought. He'll never be cured of this curse. All he can do is learn to live with it. After all, it's not like he turns into an animal or some kind of monster.  
  
* * *  
  
As Ranma let the bath run, he stripped off his clothes and began to scrub himself down. He still wasn't used to looking down and seeing a pair of breasts instead of just looking at his toes. It coulda been worse, he thought. At least I still have hands, and I can talk. I coulda been turned into a cow, or a pig, or even a c-c-cat Ranma shuddered at the last thought. That would be a fate worse than death. Ranma shivered as he upended a bucket of cold water to rinse the suds and grime off him. He stood up, turned off the water and climbed into the furo, feeling the tingling sensation of the curse as his body returned to its original masculine state.  
  
Ranma leaned back in the heat, sighing in pleasure. He had really missed being able to take a hot bath while on the road. They'd rarely had the money to stay anywhere, so he and Oyaji had almost always camped out in parks and washed in streams. Sometimes the cold water felt good –especially on hot days- but Ranma much preferred the soothing heat of the furo, especially after strenuous, physically or emotionally, days.  
  
It's not like I can't see the advantages to having this curse insteada one of the others, Ranma considered, But what kinda girl is gonna want anything to do with a guy that turns into a girl when he gets hit by cold water? I wouldn't be able to stay a guy for an hour if I actually managed to get a date. Ever since I was cursed, cold water seems to go out of its way to splash me. No girl wants to be thought of as going out with another girl. Especially not her.  
  
As Ranma contemplated his loneliness, he was slightly cheered up by the fact that his aunt and cousin didn't seem all that upset by the curse. Probably on of them delayed shock thingies, Ranma thought. I'm sure they'll come to their senses and boot me out soon. If not over the curse, wait till they see what happens when I run across the next c-c-cat. Ranma shivered despite the warmth of the furo as he thought of the one thing in the world that could send him running away, screaming in terror.  
  
"Ranma, are you nearly finished in there," Dr. Mizuno's voice called from the other side of the doorway. "Dinner's almost ready and I think we need to talk some more."  
  
Ranma sat bolt upright. There were few things that could induce him to leave a nice long soak without an argument and one of those was food. "I'll be down in a minute, Auntie," Ranma replied as he got to his feet and began toweling off. He dressed in record time and was eagerly waiting at the table before Ami had even come down the stairs.  
  
As they sat down to their meal, Ranma dug into his food as was his wont, shoveling it into his mouth and swallowing almost without chewing. Ami and her mother sat and watched him in shock as he destroyed the food on his plate in less than a minute. Ami was surprised how much like her friend Usagi he ate. Except Usagi normally took more time to chew.  
  
"Ranma," Dr. Mizuno said. Ranma stopped eating and looked across the table at her. "Please slow down. I remember how Genma used to talk about speed eating as training, but at our dinner table, I want you to eat at reasonable speeds. Good food is to be enjoyed, not wolfed down. No one is going to take it away from you."  
  
Ranma smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that," he said as he scratched the back of his head. "Oyaji was always making me fight him for the food. You had to eat fast or he'd steal it all away. I'll try and eat slower. Your cooking's real good, Auntie."  
  
"Thank you, Ranma," Dr. Mizuno said, realizing that this was most likely one of the highest compliments Ranma was likely to give anyone. "Now, I wanted to ask you about your schooling." Ranma started looking extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed. "I know that Genma wouldn't have completely ignored your education. Even he couldn't get around the law, but I know he held school and book learning in contempt. So, what was the last grade you completed?"  
  
Ranma shifted a little nervously as he replied, "Well, the last school I went to was an all boys junior high two years ago. I never told Oyaji this, but before we left for China, the principal had me take some kind of proficiency test. He said it would make it easier for me to come back to school when I got back."  
  
"So how did you do," Ami asked, always curious about how others did on tests.  
  
Ranma mumbled an incoherent reply.  
  
"Ranma, how did you do," Dr. Mizuno asked a little more forcefully. This was very important to her as well.  
  
"He said I did well enough that I coulda gotten into high school then," Ranma replied his face flaming.  
  
Ami stared at him astonished. She hadn't expected him to be quite as smart as that, not with the dumb jock image he gave off. Dr. Mizuno wasn't surprised. High intelligence ran in the family, although common sense wasn't as strong. After all, Nodoka had married Genma. "Then it shouldn't be a problem getting you into high school," she said. "I'm very proud that you've managed to keep up with your studies. Didn't you move around a lot, Ranma?"  
  
"Yeah, we didn't stay in most places for more than a couple of weeks. The principal said my transcript read like a concert tour schedule for some kinda band. I always liked studying, but Oyaji hated it when I would have my head in a book. He felt that if I had time to study then I wasn't training enough. I didn't get much of a chance ta study when I was young. It wasn't till I could hold my own against him that I was able ta get some free time. I wound up staying up real late studying. I found I didn't need as much sleep as I got older, so it didn't bother me much. I just hadta keep it quiet," Ranma replied. "I didn't want nobody to think I was stupid or nothing just cause I'm a martial artist."  
  
"Well, I'm glad Ranma," Dr. Mizuno replied. "You should be able to enroll at Juuban High School in the morning then. They should let you in until they can get ahold of your transcript. I have some friends down at the school, so we should be able to get everything straightened out quickly. Now comes the hard question, Ranma. What do you want to do about the curse?"  
  
Ranma looked down at the table for a long moment before replying. "I don't know, Auntie," he said. "I mean, I know the curse is going ta happen there and everyone will see me change if I go as a guy, but I'm not really a girl. I shouldn't pretend to be one. Everyone would really hate me if I tried and got found out. I figure I should go as myself. We could explain the curse to the teachers and let the other students find out when I get splashed. Everyone'll think I'm weird, but at least I wouldn't be lying ta nobody."  
  
"Alright, Ranma. That's how we'll do it then," Dr. Mizuno replied. "I'm glad you're going to be honest about your curse. I agree that trying to actively hide it would most likely backfire badly. We'll explain the situation to the principal tomorrow and see what happens. I'm sure they'll relax the uniform requirements for your condition. After all, your measurements are completely different in your cursed form."  
  
"Tell me about it," Ranma muttered as he cleaned off his plate.  
  
* * *  
  
As Ranma was getting ready for bed, Dr Mizuno appeared in his open doorway with a couple pieces of posterboard in her arms. "Ranma," she said, "how much do you know about your cursed body?"  
  
"Not much," Ranma admitted.  
  
"It's a good thing I still have these then," Dr. Mizuno said.  
  
"What's that," Ranma asked.  
  
"They're the visual aids I used when I explained to Ami about how to take care of her body and about the female reproductive system," Dr. Mizuno replied calmly as she propped the pieces of posterboard on the desk and closed the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Ami was working on her homework when she heard a startled yelp coming from Ranma's room. Looks like Mom's giving him "the talk," Ami thought, mentally snickering at the look that was probably on Ranma's face as her mother explained to him how the female body worked.  
  
  
  
Author's Notes: Wow, I'm glad everyone seems to like this story so far. It's been a lot of fun to write and I have quite a bit planned out. This is a much more character/plot driven story than most, so the action parts will be kind of far between. It takes a lot more page space to explain and explore how people will deal with things. As for characters showing up, all the Ranma and Sailor Moon characters will show up, even if they won't all have important roles. I had a question about how Ranma could fight without learning the chi blasts and I would like to point out that the chi blasts actually had nothing to do with an Amazon. Ryouga got a scroll describing the Shi Shi Hokodan technique from an old miner. Who's to say there aren't other oppertunites out there for Ranma to learn other techniques and other people to teach them.  
  
Another point is that Ranma is out of character the further I go into this story. Bear with me, people. I have my reasons for why Ranma acts differently. Many people will act differently since defining events in the lives of the characters have been or will be changed.  
  
Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their support of this story. Every author likes to have his or her ego stroked. It's one of the reasons we write. I have a plan for this story. Trust me. I hope you continue to read. 


	4. chapter 3

Dreams of Destiny

Chapter 3

As sunlight filtered in through her window, Ami opened her eyes and stretched. Looking over at her clock, she saw that once again, she'd woken up before her alarm clock. Wiping the grit out of her eyes, Ami pulled her self from the bed, turning off her alarm as she passed it. I wonder if Ranma's up yet, she thought as she pulled off her pajamas and dressed in her school uniform. She moved over to her desk and started packing her books into her bag, making sure that all her assignments as well as her entrance test books were accounted for. She had another study session over at Rei's today and she needed to talk to the others. Ranma's curse was going to cause him problems making friends, so Ami figured that even though her friends were all younger, they could help him out.

That did bring up one problem, though. I'll have to get Makoto and Minako to back off, Ami though darkly. Given how they usually react to attractive boys, they'll be throwing themselves at Ranma every chance they get. I'll have to tell everyone about the curse and how Uncle Genma died. Hopefully, they'll respect his grief and give him some breathing room.

Ami crossed the hall to Ranma's room and knocked. "Ranma, are you up," she asked. No one answered, so she cracked the door open and peeked inside. "Ranma?" No answer.

Ami opened the door the rest of the way and took in the pristine state of the room. The bed was neatly made and everything looked perfect. Ami was worried that Ranma may have run off in the night until she saw the edge of his pack sticking out of the closet. Who would have thought that Ranma would be such a neat freak, Ami mused as she shut the door and headed downstairs.

Dr. Mizuno was setting the table for breakfast when Ami came down the stairs with a puzzled look. "What's wrong, dear," she asked.

"Do you know where Ranma is," Ami asked. "I went to wake him up, but he wasn't there and his bed was made."

"Ranma was up before I was," Dr. Mizuno chuckled. "When I got up, he'd already made breakfast. Then he asked if he knew if there was somewhere around here where he could train a little until we were ready, so I took him over to the park. He should be back any minute now." 

As Dr. Mizuno finished her sentence, the front door opened and Ranma stepped inside, looking none the worse for having been working out. He was dressed in a red Chinese shirt with loose black pants tied off at the waist and ankles with drawstrings. He bent over and removed his scuffed slippers before stepping inside and heading for the table.

"So, how was your workout, Ranma," Dr. Mizuno asked as she set the last of the food on the table.

"Not bad," Ranma replied as he filled his plate. "That park is a nice place to practice, but I'm gonna get sloppy if I don't have anyone to practice with. Katas and exercise are good, but they don't come close to making you work like sparring with someone does."

"Perhaps I could find a local dojo for you to work out at," Dr. Mizuno mused.

"I'm not much for dojos," Ranma said nervously. "Oyaji had to leave lots of them in a hurry. Wouldn't surprise me any if he stole stuff from them. He did that kinda thing a lot. So my name might bias a lot of dojo instructors against me."

"So that's how Genma supported himself, he was a thief," Dr. Mizuno asked in shock.

"He didn't steal all the time," Ranma replied, "but he sure didn't like to work. All he liked to do was eat, drink, sleep and train."

"Well, I hope you have some different hobbies, Ranma," Ami chimed in. "I know you like to eat, but there's more to life than that."

"Well, I kinda like to draw," Ranma offered hesitantly.

"Really," Dr. Mizuno asked, a hint of surprise in her voice. "Are your drawings any good?"

"Dunno," Ranma mumbled around a mouthful of food. "I never showed them to anyone before and I hadta hide them from Oyaji. He woulda burned them if he'd found them. He didn't like me doing anything that might distract me from martial arts. Why? You wanna see them?"

Dr. Mizuno nodded, sensing that Ranma was nervous about allowing other people to see his drawings. He was much more sensitive than he wanted anyone to realize. Especially now.

Ranma made the contents of his plate vanish into his mouth and bolted up the stairs. Ami and her mother could her his door open and waited patiently as he bounded back down the stairs with a small sketch-book in hand. He handed it to Dr. Mizuno, his eyes nervously flicking from her to the floor and back again.

"One of my teachers in Junior high gave me that before I had to leave that school," Ranma said, every line of his body taut. "He said that it helped him to draw places he'd been, so maybe it'd help me."

Dr. Mizuno set the book on the table and carefully opened the first page. Ami leaned over her mother's shoulder to get a look. Ranma was surprised when both of the gasped.

"Guess they're not much good, huh," Ranma said sadly, scuffing his toe against the floor.

"That's not true at all, Ranma," Dr. Mizuno replied firmly. "These are wonderful. Did anyone ever teach you to draw?"

"Naw, I just drew them the way the places looked. Wasn't much special about it," Ranma replied dazedly. "So you like them?"

"They're wonderful, Ranma," Ami replied, her eyes locked on the drawing in front of him. It was a simple landscape, but the details that had been included made it seem more real than most drawings she'd ever seen. "Maybe you should take some art classes. You have a real talent for it."

"They're not that good," Ranma replied bashfully. "Just some things I scratched out when I was younger. I've drawn other things and people, but I usually don't keep many of them. That one was my first, so I kept it. I used to get rid of them after I filled them up. Oyaji said he didn't want me hanging on to things like that." Ranma looked into their eyes. "He didn't like me having anything either. Kept saying that 'Possessions tie you down, and a martial artist needs to be free to blow with the wind' or some such thing."

"Well, anyway," Dr. Mizuno began, trying to keep Ranma from dwelling on his father's death. "Are you ready to go, Ranma? We need to head down to the high school and see the principal about getting you registered for classes."

"I'm ready now," Ranma replied. "I didn't work out hard enough to break a sweat. I don't got no school stuff though. Oyaji got rid of mine when we went to China."

"That's all right, Ranma," Ami replied, turning to go back upstairs. "I've got an old bag and some extra notebooks you can use. Let me go get them."

"Don't you gotta go to school now too," Ranma asked confused.

"I'm only fifteen, Ranma," Ami replied. "I'm still in junior high. The high school starts at an earlier time, so you need to go."

"But I thought I'd be in school with you," Ranma replied woodenly.

Ami looked at Ranma's face and the heavily guarded worry that leaked out. "Don't worry, Ranma. I'll meet you after school and introduce you to some of my friends. We have a study group going for the high school entrance exams. You can get to know them and catch up on some of the work you've missed."

"I think that would be wonderful, Ami," Dr. Mizuno said as she gazed proudly on her daughter. "Ranma doesn't know anyone here and meeting your friends will help. Right, Ranma?"

Ranma nodded shyly. He didn't want to admit he was worried about being in a new place where everyone was a stranger, but at least his family was supporting him. Ranma basked in the warm glow that word drew from deep inside. He'd never known what it was like to have a real family. He'd seen other kids with their parents and siblings, but he'd never understood what bound them together. He hadn't been close to anyone other than Oyaji, and her. But Ranma was half convinced that she wasn't real, so she didn't count. But Auntie and Ami had accepted him immediately and pulled him into their lives. He could feel the way they cared about him flowing off them. Wait a minute, hadn't Oyaji said something about that? 

Ranma strained at the memory. It had been during one of the rare meditation exercises that Oyaji had felt it necessary to teach Ranma. He'd said that one of the first steps to mastering ki was to be able to control your emotions. He'd also said that sometimes you could feel others' emotions with it, if the emotions were strong enough. Ranma slumped in his seat at that. He was starting to control his ki? They felt strongly enough about him that it was radiating off them? It fried his brain.

***

Dr. Mizuno could almost see the wheels spinning around in her nephew's head and she wondered what had caused it. Lord knows that I don't know Ranma well, she thought sadly. I can only imagine the way Genma treated him. I just hope he didn't do any serious lasting harm.

"Here's the bag," Ami said, abruptly cutting off her mother and cousin's lines of thought. "You two need to get going, or you'll get there late. I'll meet you by the school's front gate after my classes let out. We'll go over to one of my friends' house from there. Now go." Ami had adopted a stern posture and was pulling Ranma and her mother up from their chairs and angling them to the door.

Dr. Mizuno grabbed her purse and Ami forced the school bag into Ranma's hand as the stepped out the door. "We're off," Ami's mother said as they started down the street.

"Have a good day," Ami replied before going back inside and sitting down to her untouched breakfast. 

***

The walk to the high school was uneventful, but the morning was beautiful. Dr. Mizuno couldn't figure out why Ranma would look at the fence on the side of the street, then shake his head firmly. She promised herself that she would find out later, as she pulled him abruptly across to the other side of her, just in time to avoid the splash of water that came down from an open window above them. She ignored the apology that the young lady called out and continued on. That was the third time in the last ten minutes that Ranma had almost been splashed and she was determined that his first meeting with the principal would be as her nephew. Not her niece.

At least she was lucky enough to know the principal. Mr. Tanaka had been a friend in college and she'd been surprised that he had remained in Juuban, first as a teacher and later as principal. Not that she had any doubt about his ability, but Juuban generally drove people off with it's odd occurrences. The only places that were said to be weirder were Tomobiki and Nerima, but Mieko Mizuno doubted that half the stories she heard about the other districts were true. After all, the Sailor Senshi lived here, not in either of those districts. Honestly, how could the roaming martial artists of Nerima and the aliens in Tomobiki match up to them?

Dr. Mizuno shook her head slightly in amusement. Mr. Tanaka was going to be easy to deal with compared to how the other students would react to Ranma's curse. It was very likely that it would quickly make him an outcast. But Ranma was man enough to deal with it, she thought. It will be hard for him at first, but when everyone sees how he deals with the curse, they'll come around.

As they approached the school gates, Dr. Mizuno took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Come on, Ranma," she said. "We have an appointment to keep."

***

Principal Tanaka was a solid, beefy man, with a very serious but fair manner. He was widely respected by his peers for managing one of the Trouble Three districts without cracking. Furinkan's principal Kuno had cracked years ago and only added to the chaos there, Tomobiki's principal kept himself hidden away these days. Tanaka prided himself on his resolve. Despite the constant monster attacks that had plagued the district in the past year, he had maintained the school schedule and kept his students from serious harm.

The principals of the junior was constantly coming to Tanaka for help, and Tanaka's air of solidity was there for the poor an to lean on. After all, most of the monster attacks had focused on the junior high, so the troubles there had been worse than at the high school.

Tanaka was looking forward to his meeting this morning. He hadn't talked much to Mieko Mizuno in years and he was always glad to do her a favor. Especially since it had been her tutoring that had kept him in college. After all, what kind of problem could a young man related to the esteemed Dr. Mizuno have?

Mrs. Tsuru, the secretary, opened the door to the office and let Dr. Mizuno and her nephew in. Tanaka stood up and greeted his guests. "Mieko, it's wonderful to see you again," he boomed as he strode forward and grabbed her hand, pumping it forcefully.

"It's nice to see you again too, Tanaka," Dr. Mizuno said warmly. "I'd like you to meet my nephew Ranma. He's Nodoka's and Genma's son."

Ranma nodded shyly at Tanaka. Like many others before him, he was slightly overwhelmed by the force of Tanaka's personality. Not many people expected an academic like him to be so burly and full of life. Tanaka was a study in contrasts.

Tanaka was taking this opportunity to size up young Ranma. He remembered meeting Mieko's sister Nodoka several times before she died. A wonderful woman, he thought. What a horrible way for her to go. He had only met Genma once when he and Nodoka had come together to visit Mieko and Tanaka had not been impressed. Whereas Nodoka had a spine of steel and a rigid sense of honor, Genma had been a spineless jellyfish who lived only to satisfy his appetites. He had known that Genma had disappeared with their son about ten years ago. Ranma looked different than Genma, though. He has his mother's determination, Tanaka thought. He'll do.

"Now I understand you want to enroll Ranma here, Mieko," Tanaka said. "I don't see any problem with that. We should be able to get his records in a week or so and he can go ahead and start classes today. But you said there was a problem?"

"Yes, there is," Dr. Mizuno replied hesitantly. She turned to Ranma and said, "Why don't you show him, Ranma. We can explain afterward."

Ranma nodded and reached for the pitcher of water on the side table in the office. He picked it up and splashed it over himself. He felt the change wash over him as he turned back to face the principal.

Tanaka had seen many strange things in his life. He'd seen the little troll that had terrorized countless high school locker rooms bounding across roofs with bags of underwear, he'd seen energy draining monsters appearing out of nowhere, but he'd never seen anything like this. The lean young man had poured a pitcher of water over his head and Tanaka had watched as the boy's body had reshaped itself into the body of a young girl.

"I assume this was the problem you mentioned," Tanaka said as he stared, trying to keep a quaver out of his voice. He shook himself and slapped his hands down on the edge of the desk. "Well, it's not as bad as some things I could think of. At least this one I can deal with."

"I thought you would be able to as well," Dr. Mizuno said. "Ranma changes into a girl with cold water and back into a boy with hot water. You can see the problem. Also, since he got this curse, he's been attracting cold water left and right. I thought you might have an idea what we can do."

"Hmm," Tanaka replied as he pursed his lips in thought. "I'll get the teachers together at lunch and explain this to them. Ranma, I'll want you to demonstrate it for them as well." Ranma nodded his assent. He was still slightly shocked that for the second time in less than a day, someone had taken his curse without a pause. "We'll break the curse to the students as it happens, and I'm assuming that a large part of the problem is that you'll change frequently?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda a water-magnet now," Ranma replied.

"Don't worry, son," Tanaka said as he got up from behind the desk and put his hand on the boy-turned-girl's shoulder. "The student's here are used to the unusual. They'll be shocked, but they'll get over it quickly. We're not snobs like over at Mugen Gakuen. Now why don't you go to the bathroom and get some water to change back."

Ranma marshaled a weak smile and left the office in search of hot water, while Tanaka turned back to Dr. Mizuno.

"I won't lie to you, Mieko," he said. "It'll be tough on Ranma. He'll have to catch up on his subjects and deal with the social awkwardness his condition will cause. I think he's strong enough to handle it, but we'll have to see how it goes."

"I think he'll be okay too," Dr. Mizuno said, smiling warmly. "My daughter, Ami, is going to help him with his schoolwork and I think he'll be adopted quickly enough by her friends. He'll have the support outside of school he needs to find his stability. But I'm still worried. He didn't even know that Nodoka was dead until yesterday and he's still trying to deal with the loss of his father. I worry that he'll do some stupid things and get into situations he can't get out of."

"I understand, Mieko," Tanaka said as he thumped his chest, "and you can rely on me to watch out for him here. And I think little Ami and her friends can keep an eye on him outside of school. I think you're borrowing trouble. He seems like a good kid to me. I think he'll settle in and get used to a life as normal as can be found in Juuban these days."

"I hope so," Dr. Mizuno replied as she leaned back in the chair and tried to relax. "I really hope so." But I'm afraid that something big is about to happen, she thought. There's something in the air. Something telling me that things will ever be the same again.

AN: Sorry this one took so long, but real life is causing problems. My writing will be a little slow, but I'm going to try and keep it steady. This is just a draft of this chapter. I'll probably make changes to it in the near future, but I need to put it up in order to keep myself going.


	5. CHAPTER 4

It should be noted that Ranma disliked tests. Not that he wasn't capable of doing well on them. Quite the opposite; he'd never met a test he couldn't beat if he prepared properly, just like he'd never met an opponent he couldn't beat if he trained hard enough. No, tests weren't something he couldn't handle, but he still disliked them all the same. So when Ranma handed in the placement test that Principal Tanaka had requested he take, Ranma felt a palpable sense of relief. He quickly handed the test to the secretary and looked around.  
  
"Is it okay if I look around a little bit," Ranma asked. The secretary nodded, never looking up from the test she had started going over. Ranma moved over to the door and said, "I'll be back soon."  
  
Ranma moved out into the hallway , peeking into the open doors of classrooms as he moved through the building. This school is going to be boring, he thought. It all looks like they don't have anything here to interest me. Wait a minute, what's that? Ranma moved back to look in a door  
  
that was only partially open. Something in there had caught his eye.  
  
Ranma eased the door open and peeked inside. He gasped as he saw the most beautiful painting he had ever seen in his life sitting on an easel in the room. Pushing the door open the rest of the way, Ranma walked in, mesmerized by the painting. It was a simple seascape, but the crashing of the  
  
waves against the rocks evoked a deep response in Ranma. He'd never seen anything like this before, ever.  
  
"Do you like it," A voice asked from behind Ranma, causing him to jump in surprise. He turned quickly to face the newcomer and saw a scruffy looking man in a collared shirt with the top button undone and a tie hanging loose around his neck standing there.  
  
"Yes, it's beautiful," Ranma said, turning back to look at the painting. "It's so real. I could swear I almost feel the spray from the waves on my cheeks."  
  
"A lot of people feel that way about this piece. The artist is relatively unknown and he thanks you for the compliment," the man said, bowing slightly to Ranma.  
  
"You painted this," Ranma asked impressed.  
  
"It's just a little thing I work on in my spare time," he replied. "My name's Egawa. I'm the art teacher here."  
  
Ranma stared back and forth between the painting and the teacher, finally nodding. "Do you think you could teach me how to paint," Ranma asked.  
  
"You're Saotome, right," Mr. Egawa asked. At Ranma's nod, he continued, "You're going to be in my class, so I can teach you. Whether you do well or not is up to you. Do you paint or draw?"  
  
"I draw, some," Ranma admitted reluctantly. "Other people think it's good, but I'm not happy with all my drawings. That's what I draw for. Me, not them."  
  
"That's true, Saotome," Mr. Egawa replied, "but no one draws entirely for themselves. Otherwise no one would ever know you draw. You show the drawings to other people and you get praised. All of us artists do it. We need to have our egos built up as we tend to be a moody lot."  
  
"So you'll show me how to draw better and maybe how to paint," Ranma asked excitedly.  
  
"If you pay attention, I can teach you technique, but real art has to come from within," Mr. Egawa said as his eyes seemed to gaze off into the distance. "Do you carry a sketchbook?"  
  
Ranma nodded and pulled his battered sketchbook out of his bag, handing it to Mr. Egawa. The teacher motioned for Ranma to sit on one of the stools as he set the sketchbook down on his desk and started to leaf through it. Ranma fidgeted at the slow pace and expressionless face that Mr. Egawa kept as he thumbed through Ranma's sketches. Finally, he closed the book and stared at Ranma.  
  
"You have a great deal of natural talent, Ranma," he said. "It's obvious from these sketches that you really didn't have anyone to teach you techniques to make drawings seem more natural. How to make perspective and distance look real. You had to work that out mostly on your own, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Ranma replied. "Oyaji didn't like me doing nothing that wasn't martial arts, so I couldn't exactly spend time with someone to teach me those things. I hadta figure out that stuff by looking at other drawings and comparing my own to what I saw in real life."  
  
"You've done well, Ranma," Mr. Egawa said, "but you'll definitely benefit from some formal training. Now I think you need to head back to the principal's office."  
  
"Okay," Ranma replied and headed to the door. He paused briefly in the door way asking, "Did Mr. Tanaka tell you about my problem?"  
  
"Yes, Ranma, he did," Mr. Egawa said as he moved towards the easel. "Believe it or not, we're used to weirder things than a sex-changing curse around here. You shouldn't have many problems with the teachers. How you relate to the other students is up to you."  
  
* * *  
  
While Ranma and Mr. Egawa were talking, neither of them noticed a curvacious red-haired woman hanging upside down outside the window. She smirked evilly and raised her hand. A small egg formed in her hand with a wave of darkness. With a flick of the wrist, the egg was sent flying. It passed through the window as if insubstantial, moving directly for the painting on the easel. It hit and exuded a sticky film, then sank into the painting which pulsed with darkness for a moment.  
  
* * *  
  
As Mr. Egawa touched the painting, there was a brief flash of light and a scream of "Painting!" As Ranma and Mr. Egawa's eyes cleared, an extremely strange-looking woman stood before them. She was wrapped in paper and seemed to sway like the ebb and flow of a tide. With a scream, she launched herself forward, trying to grab Mr. Egawa. She hit the wall with a splash and she seemed to melt into a puddle  
  
on the ground as Ranma pulled the hapless teacher out of the way.  
  
"Get out of here," Ranma yelled to Mr. Egawa, as the woman began to reform from the puddle of water on the floor. Mr. Egawa nodded and ran down the hall, leaving Ranma behind to face the monster. As the water creature finished reforming itself, the red-haired woman appeared in the room, floating above the floor. Her pale skin and ample cleavage was shown off by the skimpy red dress she wore.  
  
"The target has escaped Daimon Painting," she said. "However, I can sense a pure heart in this one. Take his heart crystal."  
  
"Yes, Mistress Kaolinite," the daimon replied leaping at Ranma with her hands outstretched.  
  
"No way in hell am I gonna let you have anything of mine," Ranma shouted as he rolled out of the way of the daimon's leap. His roll brought him to the window, which he unlatched as the daimon turned around. "But if you want a fight, let's take it outside!" With that Ranma hopped off the window ledge. The Daimon rushed over to the window, astonished. She knew humans were afraid of powerful daimons like her, but wasting a heart crystal by committing suicide was unforgivable. She looked out the window and her jaw dropped as she saw Ranma land softly and wave cheerfully at her.  
  
Enraged, the daimon jumped out the window after him, unmindful of the four story drop, which caught up with her as she hit the ground with a splash and had to reform herself.  
  
Ranma shook his head as he watched the daimon jump out the window and hit the ground hard. He watched it reform itself with interest, not having paid much attention the previous time she'd done it. This is gonna be tough, he thought. She's made of water and can just remake herself if she gets hurt. I don't know how good a fighter she is, but I can't underestimate her.  
  
The daimon launched itself at Ranma again, but he leaned to the side and let her pass by. This scene repeated itself as Ranma bobbed and wove around the Daimon's strikes. Becoming frustrated, the Daimon let out a cry of "Painting" and sent a torrent of water rushing at Ranma. He dove out of the way, only to realize at the last minute that the water had been a diversion as the paper shawl the daimon had been wearing wrapped itself around him.  
  
Ranma struggled against the wet paper, surprised at the strength of it. Can't get any leverage, he thought. Damn, and this stuff's as strong as nylon.  
  
Now that the daimon had Ranma trapped, she walked towards him, a dark star tattoo appearing on her flesh. It began to glow as she approached him and emitted a stream of incandescent energy towards Ranma's chest.  
  
The pain was excruciating, but pain wasn't something that Ranma was unaccustomed to. He managed to worm and arm free despite the racking pain, but it was for naught, as he felt something rip out of him. He stared downward, glassy-eyed as a glowing red and gold crystal popped free of his chest. In some vague way, he knew tat the crystal was an important part of him. He could feel his life slowly ebbing away as Kaolinite moved over and cupped the crystal in her hands.  
  
"Not a Talisman," she said disappointed, "but it is an extremely strong one. The Doctor will put this to good use. Finish him off, Painting."  
  
As the Daimon reformed her hand into a wicked blade, Ranma could hear two voices shout something out. Seconds later, two spheres of energy passed in front of Ranma. A golden ball knocked the daimon over and sent her tumbling away from Ranma and shaved close enough by him, to break Ranma free of the paper wrapping he had been in. A blue ball streaked towards Kaolinite and knocked the crystal out of her hands. She bent forward to retrieve it, but a blur passed by her and grabbed the crystal. Ranma, as he slumped to he knees, was able to turn his head to see a blue-green haired girl staring intently at the crystal. She shook her head and lobbed it back at Ranma. Th crystal sailed through the air, being drawn to Ranma, somehow. When it reached him, Ranma exerted all of his energy to stretch an arm out and pull the crystal towards him. When he touched the crystal a warm spread through him, bringing back his energy and will.  
  
Ranma looked around and saw the Red-haired woman was gone and the blue- green haired girl was jumping over the school's fence, accompanied by a blond with a short page-boy cut. A roar sounded and Ranma turned to see the Daimon writhing in pain as a black haired girl in a very short skirt launched rings of fire at the monster. Then, a blonde with her hair in really strange pigtails waved around some kind of stick and a giant heart rammed into the daimon. When the heart faded, the daimon returned to the painting Ranma had seen with a cry of "Lovely." Then a small egg rose from the painting and cracked, causing a small bird-like trail of smoke to emerge. The two girls in the short skirts jumped over the wall, leaving Ranma staring at the schoolyard in shock.  
  
"What the hell just happened," Ranma asked of no one in particular. 


	6. chapter 5

Dreams of Destiny  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Ranma stared at the schoolyard with a dazed expression on his face. He'd never seen anything like what had happened today before. Sure, he'd been all over Japan and parts of China and seen many weird things. Cursed training grounds, temples full of evil kitsune, crazed monks who worshipped a sandal; those things Ranma could deal with, but a weird woman-shaped creature ripping a crystal out of his chest and causing him to feel as if his life was draining away, that was something new. When the daimon had been destroyed and the girls in the short skirts had run off, one of the teachers had come out to check on Ranma.  
  
According to the teacher, these attacks had become common, and they'd never heard of someone being targeted by them more than once. While the teacher had meant this to reassure Ranma, it had the opposite effect. It made him angry. Angry with himself for getting caught so easily. Angry with himself for not being able to break free. Angry with himself at having needed to be saved by some girls in short skirts.  
  
Some of the other students had taken the time to explain to him about the Sailor Senshi. How they usually fought the monsters that showed up in town on a semi-regular basis and managed to incur massive property damage at the same time. No one knew who they were or where they came from, but everyone agreed that they had saved numerous people, even if they didn't seem to have too good of control over their powers. Everyone was very grateful to them for all the people they'd saved and had even stopped trying to figure out who they are. They'd been accepted as a part of everyday life in Juuban.  
  
But not Ranma. He couldn't believe it had taken some girl with magic powers to save him from that creature. He'd trained for years in martial arts to be the best and now he was slipping. He needed to train and train seriously, but where could he turn. Oyaji had been his trainer for most of his life, aside from the occasional dojo master and monk they had come across in their travels and Ranma doubted he was likely to find anyone as widely experienced as his father. So who was he going to train with?  
  
* * *  
  
Ami walked up to the Juuban High School anxiously. She had heard that there had been another daimon attack today and she didn't know if Ranma had been involved or not. She hoped he hadn't but Usagi and Rei said that the victim had a pigtail and dressed in Chinese clothes, so Ami suspected he had been the one. She wasn't sure how he would deal with it, though. Most residents of Juuban could take being attacked by a monster as a daily occurrence, especially Naru, but Ranma hadn't settled into Juuban yet. Ami had no idea how Ranma was going to react to what had happened.  
  
Ranma was waiting for her at the gate with a severe expression. He didn't seem to notice her as she walked. "Ranma, are you okay," she asked, putting a hand on his arm. Ranma jumped a bit, startled and nodded to her.  
  
"Yeah, I'm alright," Ranma replied. "Some monster decided to use me as a playtoy, but I'm fine."  
  
"I'm glad you're okay," Ami replied sincerely. "We haven't had any fatalities or serious injuries from a monster attack in a long time. When I heard about the attack here, I was worried you were involved."  
  
"It was going after the art teacher," Ranma said. "I couldn't let it get him. Mr. Egawa's a nice guy. He shouldn't be monster-bait, so I threw him out of the room and told him to run. I led the monster outside and it wrapped me up like a piece of sushi. It pulled some red crystal thingy outta me and then these two chicks showed up throwing these blasts around. I got free and got the crystal back and then this psycho chick fries the daimon and one with a really silly hairstyle threw a big pink heart at it and made it disappear. Not a big deal." Ami looked at him oddly, but didn't say anything. She could tell it bothered Ranma a lot that he had to be saved. He'd been studying martial arts his whole life and he was a very independent person, but Ami could tell that now wasn't the time to push the matter. Besides if she got him talking about the other Senshi, she'd start giggling. Ami wondered how Uranus and Neptune would take being referred to as chicks. Not to mention Mars. She'd probably throw a fit over Ranma's description of her, however accurate it seemed. Usagi would just start wailing over the insult to her hairstyle.  
  
"Well," she said. "I was going to take you over to meet my friends, but a couple of them unexpectedly became busy, so you'll only get to meet two of them. Come on, let's go."  
  
"Which friends are we gonna meet," Ranma asked as he started walking down the street, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders stiffly pushed back.  
  
"I'm taking you over to the shrine Rei lives at," Ami replied. "She and Makoto said they'd be there. Usagi and Minako got detention again for being late. I thought you might like to see the temple since you mentioned staying at several on your training trip."  
  
"Shrines are nice," Ranma replied, the tension starting to ease out of his frame. "They're very peaceful. I remember one shrine I visited when I was young. It had a great priest. He taught me a bunch of meditation techniques to focus my mind. Too bad I had to leave so abruptly."  
  
"What happened," Ami asked.  
  
"Oyaji showed up in the middle of the night and dragged me off," Ranma replied, his shoulders tensing again. "Wouldn't be surprised if he stole stuff from 'em too."  
  
"Uncle Genma wasn't with you," Ami asked, surprised. "I thought he rarely left you by yourself."  
  
"Yeah, but this time was different," Ranma said, his face turning dark. "It was after one of his stupidest training ideas ever. The police took me away from him after that one. That's how I wound up at the temple. Oyaji just waited until the heat died down and then grabbed me and ran."  
  
"What did he do," Ami asked, not sure that she wanted to know.  
  
"I'd rather not talk about it," Ranma replied, shuddering. "It wasn't pleasant. Say, where is this temple, anyway?"  
  
"It's about five miles east of here, at the edge of the district," Ami replied. "I thought we'd catch the bus down by the shopping center. It goes right by the temple."  
  
"Wanna take a short-cut," Ranma asked, smiling roguishly.  
  
* * *  
  
Ami screamed as she hurtled through the air. Not that she hadn't survived worse falls as Sailor Mercury, it was just that she was just Ami right now. She didn't have the Senshi's magical resistance to damage and enhanced physical abilities right now, so she was understandably terrified at bouncing from rooftop to rooftop in Ranma's arms. When he finally stopped and set her down, Ami leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath. Ranma stood off to the side, rubbing his ear.  
  
"Jeesh," he said, "you certainly can scream loud."  
  
"What did you expect, Ranma," Ami replied exasperated. "You asked if I wanted to take a shortcut, picked me up and bounced off half the rooftops in the town and you're surprised that I screamed?"  
  
"Well, yes," Ranma replied, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "I won't kill him," Ami muttered. "No matter how much I want to, I won't kill him. He's my cousin and he could probably stop me before I managed to throttle him. Just think happy thoughts. Happy thoughts."  
  
Ranma eyed Ranma carefully. Girls are weird, he thought.  
  
When Ami regained control, she grabbed Ranma by the hand and started dragging him down the street to the temple steps. Climbing up, they passed under the torii that signified the entrance to a shinto shrine, only this one seemed to be covered in crows. As they topped the steps, Ranma could make out a Dark-haired girl dressed as a miko sweeping the courtyard while she talked to a statuesque brunette who was sitting on the porch. As Ranma looked around, he was struck by a sense of familiarity, as if he'd been here before. Ami interrupted his musing as she called out to the other girls, "Rei-chan, Mako-chan!"  
  
The other girls turned to look at them and waved. The brunette rose to her feet, a look of anger flashing across her face as Ami and Ranma drew close. She moved away from the raised porch and called out, "Ami-chan, who's this?"  
  
"This is my cousin Ranma, Mako-chan," Ami replied nonplussed. "I told you that I'd be bringing him by today to meet you guys."  
  
"Yo," Ranma grunted.  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Ranma," Rei said, shooting the brunette a glare. "I'm Rei Hino and this is Makoto Kino. Ami-chan told us a little about you, but I didn't get much of the story since she had to swing by here before school."  
  
"Don't you go to school with Ami," Ranma asked.  
  
"No, I go to a private girls' school," Rei replied. "Mako-chan goes to school with Ami-chan, but we've all known each other for a long time now."  
  
Ranma looked at them with a wistful expression. "Must be nice to have friends for so long," he said. "Oyaji never let us stay in one place for more than a few months, so I never made many friends. Most of 'em have probably forgotten all about me by now."  
  
"Don't be so hard on them, Ranma," Makoto said, her attitude thawing. "if they were really your friends, they'll remember you. Maybe you'll meet them again someday."  
  
"Maybe," Ranma replied with a shrug. "But not many people are gonna want to be friends with someone like me."  
  
"Why do you say that, Ranma," Rei asked. "You seem like a nice enough guy."  
  
"Didn't you tell 'em about the curse," Ranma asked, turning to Ami.  
  
"It's not something that's easy to explain," Ami replied sheepishly. "I figured it would be better to just show them first."  
  
"Yeah, I guess it is pretty weird," Ranma said with a sigh.  
  
"What are you two talking about? What's this about a curse," Rei demanded testily.  
  
"Hmm. What's the best way to explain it," Ranma mused. His train of thought was interrupted by a crack of thunder as rain began to pour down out of the previously clear sky, drenching the three girls and one boy before stopping abruptly, leaving four girls. Rei and Makoto stared in shock as Ranma's masculine frame melted away, leaving a very busty and depressed redhead standing in front of them. "Yeah, I think that about sums it up. Man, someone up there must really hate me."  
  
"Ranma was cursed while he was in China," Ami explained while Ranma tried to wring the water out of his shirt. Strangely enough, while the other girls had gotten wet, the force of the rain seemed to have spent itself on Ranma. "He turns into a girl when he's splashed with cold water." Ami was slightly amused at the looks on her friends faces. It wasn't often that she was able to see them caught completely by surprise. If there was one thing she'd noticed about having Ranma around, he certainly made life a lot more interesting.  
  
"Curse's also why most people won't hang around me either," Ranma said as he pulled his shirt off to wring it out, revealing a well-filled muscle T-shirt and an impressive pair of breasts.  
  
"I guess I can see how it would freak people out," Makoto said slowly, trying not to stare at Ranma's breasts, which were barely covered by the muscle T-shirt. "But once people get to know you, they won't be bothered by it too much. Not around here anyway. What with all of the monster attacks and such."  
  
"Yeah, well, I got attacked by one a them daimon things this morning," Ranma replied irritably. "It was kinda embarrassing to have to be saved by some weird chicks in short skirts."  
  
"Are you saying that there's something wrong with a girl saving a guy," Rei asked in a dangerous tone.  
  
"No, I'm saying that it's embarrassing as a martial artist to have to be saved by someone who doesn't have much skill," Ranma replied evenly, causing Rei to fume a bit. "They throw around fancy blasts, but I could tell they don't know a lot about fighting. At least the ones I saw didn't."  
  
"I suppose you think you could do better," Rei asked sarcastically.  
  
"Maybe," Ranma replied as he finished wringing out the shirt and started putting it back on. "Depends on how I trained and what kinda techniques I could come up with to fight monsters with. But right now all I wanna find is some hot water. 


	7. chapter 6

Dreams of Destiny  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Wow, I didn't really believe you when you told us about his curse," Makoto said as she watched Rei lead Ranma into the temple. "Who would have though that such things exist?"  
  
"Yeah, it ranks right up there with magical school girls,' Ami bit off sarcastically, causing Makoto to stare at her in surprise.  
  
"Are you okay, Ami-chan." Makoto asked. "You seem very tense and upset."  
  
"Sorry, Mako-chan," Ami replied, her shoulders slumping a little as she sat down on the porch. "It's just been a bit stressful and I've never dealt with personal stress very well."  
  
"I know it can get tough, Ami-chan," Mako-chan told her as she sat down next to her and placed an arm around Ami. "But that's what your friends are for. We're here for you. Whenever you need to vent, whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, whenever you just need some quiet time, we'll help however we can."  
  
"Thanks, Mako-chan," Ami replied as she leaned her head into her taller friends shoulder, not noticing Makoto tense slightly at the contact. "I feel awful imposing on you guys like this, but my life's turned upside down in the last day."  
  
"Yeah, I know that life can be a real bitch sometimes, Ami-chan, Makoto replied staring off into space. "But I-we'll be there when you need us."  
  
"Um," Ami replied as she looked out at the sky as birds flew over the city, her head still resting against Makoto's shoulder.  
  
* * *  
  
"The bathroom's in here, Ranma," Rei said stopping in front of a door and sliding it open.  
  
"Thanks," Ranma replied, trying to figure out why the shrine seemed so familiar.  
  
"Rei, are you finished sweeping the front yet," came an aged male's voice as a short older man came down the hall.  
  
"Not yet, Grandpa," Rei replied. "Ranma needed to get some water."  
  
Ranma, once again male stepped out of the bathroom and stared at the diminuative priest in shock. "Mr. Hino, is that you," he asked.  
  
"You look familiar, my boy, but I can't quite place you," the priest replied.  
  
"I'm Ranma Saotome," Ranma said. "I stayed here with you for a couple of months about ten years ago."  
  
"Ranma, my lad," Grandfather Hino exclaimed. "Why I haven't seen you since that worthless excuse of a father of yours stole you away in the middle of the night. My sister was devistated."  
  
"How is she, sir," Ranma asked eagerly. "I really missed her when I was on the road. She was one of the nicest people I ever met."  
  
"Sadly, she passed away a year after you left," Grandfather Hino replied, his face becoming somber. "It broke her heart to know that you were back with that waste of human flesh."  
  
"I wasn't too happy about leaving either, Mr. Hino," Ranma replied. "I tried to come back, but Oyaji took us far enough away that I couldn't remember how to get here anymore."  
  
"You know Ranma, Grandpa," Rei asked from the sidelines, where she had been listening to their conversation..  
  
"Yes, I do, Rei," Grandfather Hino replied. "Ranma stayed here for a couple of months a long time ago. It was about two years before you came to live with me, Rei. He had been taken to the hospitals with serious injuries, including broken bones and the doctors believed that his father was abusive, so they placed him to live here with Haruka and myself. They felt that he would be safe here."  
  
"I like it here," Ranma interjected, "but they didn't count on how desperate Oyaji was to get me back. I still don't know why."  
  
"Well, Haruka, who was your great-aunt, Rei, was heart-broken when Ranma was taken. She fell ill and died within the year," Grandfather Hino said. "She never had any children of her own, so she became very attached to Ranma. So, how did you come to find your way back here, Ranma?"  
  
"He's Ami-chan's cousin, grandpa," Rei answered.  
  
"You're related to that wonderful young lady," Grandfather Hino asked in surprise. "I wouldn't have imagined that someone that intelligent would be related to Genma Saotome."  
  
"She's not," Ranma replied. "I'm related to her on my Mom's side."  
  
"So what happened to Genma," Grandfather Hino asked as Rei slipped away, leaving Ranma and her grandfather to catch up.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ami-chan," Rei called out as she walked down the hall, causing the blue-haired girl and the brunette to jump apart, both flustered and blushing. Rei looked at them oddly for a moment, then continued, "We need to talk about your cousin."  
  
"Where is he," Ami asked, the slight flush on her cheeks fading.  
  
"He's in talking with grandpa," Rei replied. "Apparently they knew each other years ago."  
  
"That makes sense," Ami replied. "He told me that he'd stayed at a shrine when he was younger, but that he couldn't remember which one it was. What are the odds that it would be your shrine, Rei-chan?"  
  
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Ami-chan," Rei said, her face serious. "There's something not quite right about Ranma and I'm not just talking about his curse. He seems to bend probability wherever he goes. A case in point is that little rain shower that hit when he was out here. The sky was perfectly clear, so where did the rain come from? And why was he attacked on his first day in Juuban. According to the pattern you found, Ami-chan, they've been going after well-publicized people, not just random people off the street."  
  
"Whoa, slow down, Rei-chan," Makoto interjected. "We have no real reason to think that there's anything wrong with Ranma, okay? Remember, we fight for love and justice, so let's assume they're innocent until proven guilty, alright?"  
  
"Besides, Rei-chan," Ami said, "He wasn't the daimon's target. It was after the art teacher at his school. Ranma just got in the daimon's way and gave the teacher the time he needed to get away. According to him, his crystal was pulled because he was close by. And I think I have an explanation for the rain."  
  
"Really," Rei asked surprised.  
  
"Um hm," Ami replied as she pulled the Mercury computer out of it's subspace pocket. "According to the computer, a Jusenkyo curse contains powerful Chaos magic. Chaos magic acts in unpredictable ways and it reacts badly to other types of magic. The computer said that under no circumstances is anyone with healing magic, like Usagi-chan, supposed to try and remove the curse. It said that the magics tend to react…explosively. I think the magic of the curse also serves to make Ranma a water magnet. It has an intelligence of sorts and it wants him in his cursed form as much as possible. I don't know why, but he's been splashed a great deal over the past day and almost always in unusual ways."  
  
"Ok, I see your point," Rei admitted, "but there's something off about his aura too. It's slippery. I can usually feel things about a person, but my senses just seem to slide off him."  
  
"That's not a good reason to dislike him, Rei-chan," Makoto said. "It might have something to do with his martial arts training. I've heard stories about martial artists who were able to do things like we can in Senshi form. They're supposed to have some kind of tournament once a year, where all the really powerful ones fight each other. I'm not sure how much is fact and how much fiction, but I've heard that some of them have even fought demons before."  
  
"I swear, Mako-chan," Rei said in an exasperated tone, "sometimes you hear the weirdest stories. How could any normal person match the powers we get as Senshi? I just can't see any normal human fighting off a youma, much less a daimon."  
  
"Anything's possible, Mako-chan," Ami said hesitantly, "but I have to agree with Rei-chan. I don't think a normal person could re4ally do much against some of the things we fight."  
  
"I'm not saying they're actually true," Makoto protested, "but I think that there are a lot of things we don't know enough about to judge and that Ranma may be one of them."  
  
"I guess you're right, Mako-chan," Rei conceded. "He seems like a nice enough guy. I just get worried when I meet strange people. We haven't exactly had a very good track record there, have we?"  
  
"I don't know about that, Rei," Ami said mischieviously. "After all, everyone said you were really weird and I think you turned out okay."  
  
"Why you…" Rei said, swatting at Ami with her broom half-heartedly as she and Makoto laughed.  
  
* * *  
  
"So your father passed on and left you with a Jusenkyo curse, did he, Ranma," Grandfather Hino asked, tapping his hand thoughtfully on his chin.  
  
"Yeah, then I cam here to find my mom and Aunt Mieko told me that she died years ago," Ranma replied. "I'm just lucky that she was willing to take me in. I didn't have anywhere else to go."  
  
"What kind of curse did you get, Ranma," Grandfather Hino asked.  
  
"I fell in Spring of Drowned Girl," Ranma replied, his face downcast.  
  
"Interesting," Grandfather Hino said thoughtfully. "I hope you do realize that spring was quite possibly the best one you could have fallen into there?"  
  
"What are you talking about Mr. Hino," Ranma shouted. "I'm a guy. I hate that I turn into a girl whenever I get splashed."  
  
"I didn't say that you should like the curse, Ranma," Grandfather Hino replied calmly. "Just that it may have been a fortuitous happening. Your curse is just that, a curse. But at least you still turn into a human and it doesn't seem to have affected your mind."  
  
"What do you mean," Ranma asked, cooling down.  
  
"Most of the springs at Jusenkyo are animal or monster springs," Grandfather Hino said in a lecturing tone. "There are very few that are human springs and most of those are personality springs. And those are quite possibly the worst. How would you have liked falling into Spring of Drowned Pervert, or Spring of Drowned Murderer. Both of those springs are recorded as still existing, you know."  
  
Ranma shivered as he imagined changing into a perverted mindset every time he got splashed with cold water. He'd probably be stealing women's underwear and groping them given the opportunity.  
  
* * *  
  
Somewhere in Tomobiki, a young man sneezed as he was sneaking up on a cute girl with intent to pounce. Immediately a scene of carnage ensued with a cry of "Darling no baka, da cha!"  
  
Somewhere in the mountains of Japan, a shriveled figure sneezed abruptly and rubbed the pair of panties in his hand as he considered how to escape the cave he'd been trapped in.  
  
* * *  
  
"How do you know so much about Jusenkyo, Mr. Hino," Ranma asked.  
  
"Well, my boy, this shrine was famous for removing curses back in the day and the priests kept careful records," Grandfather Hino replied. "Several victims of Jusenkyo came here for help, so several priests were sent there to investigate the curses. They mapped the valley and tested on small animals to see if the springs could cure the curse, but the curses added together."  
  
"You mean, if I tried to jump in the Spring of Drowned man…" Ranma said, trailing off.  
  
"You would turn into a half-man, half-woman being," Grandfather Hino replied. 'I believe they call them hermaphrodites these days. No Ranma, the only cure for the curse lies within. There was only one or two cases of the curse being cured. Well not cured so much as it was controlled. Some people, martial artists mostly, learned to control the curse so that they only changed shape when they wanted to."  
  
Ranma looked a little green at the idea of turning into a hermaphrodite. Man, if people think I'm a freak now, what would they think of me like that, Ranma asked himself, shivering at the thought. "So how'd they learn to control it," Ranma asked.  
  
"They had to learn how to control their ki," Grandfather Hino replied. "I don't know if you've realized it yet, but the curse has magnified your ki. The larger your cursed form, the more powerful your ki, at least until you match your normal form. There's no record of anyone with one of the larger cursed forms being any stronger than someone with a human form."  
  
"It made my ki stronger," Ranma asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes, I can feel it boiling about you," Grandfather Hino replied. "You have enough crude control not to form an unconscious battle aura, but you'll need to be taught. I'm sad to say that most of the ki masters I've known have passed on. Not many left heirs, but I'll see if I can track down someone for you to learn from."  
  
"That'd be great, Mr. Hino," Ranma replied enthusiastically.  
  
"Now, Ranma," Grandfather Hino started, "Haruka and I were very fond of you when you lived with us, and I'd be proud if you'd honor me by calling me grandpa, like Rei does."  
  
"Sure thing, Grandpa," Ranma replied with a cocky smile on his face. "I really oughta get back to Ami. She's probably wondering what happened to me."  
  
"Very well, Ranma," Grandfather Hino replied with a smile. "I'll let you get going now and I'll let you know if I can find a teacher for you."  
  
"Thanks, Grandpa," Ranma said, shaking Grandfather Hino's hand firmly before bounding down the hallway.  
  
"The fates have not been kind to you, Ranma my boy," Grandfather Hino mused as the boy dashed down the hallway, "and I have a strong feeling that they're not finished with you either."  
  
  
  
AN: Wow, two chapters posted in one day. I guess the writing bug bit me hard. I'd like to thank everyone who's read and responded to this story. I'm very happy at how popular this story has become and I wanted to answer a few points. The Ranma characters won't show up for a bit, as I feel I still need to develop Ranma and the Senshi a bit more as characters before they get involved. Also, I feel these are moving a bit slow, but deeper, meaningful conversations always seem that way to me and I'm trying to have more of them than the average fanfic. I'm going to be putting more action in and someone who'll take over teaching Ranma things will be showing up soon. I wonder if anyone can guess who it'll be? 


	8. chapter 7

Dreams of Destiny  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Ranma strolled along the fencetop whistling tunelessly. He was very happy to see Mr. Hino again. He had many happy memories of the short time he had lived at the shrine with him and Auntie Haruka. Ranma had been saddened by the news of her death, but figured he couldn't feel any worse about it, since his leaving was Oyaji's fault. As Ranma vaulted over a cross street to the fence on the other side, he considered what had happened today. Finding out that curing the curse was impossible had been a sever blow, but knowing that some kind of control over it was possible made him happier about it.  
  
What really tugged at Ranma's mind was Mr. Hino's mention of how the curse had affected his ki. It had seemed as if it was stronger. Maybe it has to do with that theory from physics Ami talked about last night, Ranma thought. Something about conserving mass. Maybe my girl-side is turned into energy when I'm a guy and I can now use that energy. I guess the same thing would happen to my guy side when I'm a girl. Ranma hopped down from the fence as he approached the park he had come to earlier this morning. Ami had wanted him to stay and talk to her friends, but Ranma had begged off, claiming the need to get some more training in. While he did want to train, Ranma needed the privacy to think a few things over.  
  
That monster had scared him, as much as it pained him to admit it. Ranma had never really fought anything that he couldn't beat with his physical skills. Ami had told him that the daimon he had faced was unusual, though, that she'd never heard of a monster made completely of water before. If they're normally more solid, then I can fight them, Ranma thought. But I gotta get tougher and faster. I wonder how I can do that? Ranma found a shady tree to sit under as he contemplated that question. All his life, Ranma's training had been in the hands of others, ultimately the styles and techniques he had learned had been Oyaji's decisions. Now, Ranma had to figure out techniques of his own to train himself.  
  
Too bad I don't know where that guy from junior high is, Ranma mused, struggling to recall his old friend's name and failing. He was always strong and tough, even if he was always angry and had the directional abilities of a blind lemming. Ranma considered finding someone like that to spar with, but Juuban was a relatively peaceful ward, aside from the monster attacks. The only dojos he'd heard about had been soft styles like Tai Chi and Akido. While those were good styles and useful, Ranma figured he already knew more than the dojo masters did. He'd studied those arts in China and Korea a couple of years ago. What he needed were body hardening and strength and speed training.  
  
Screams on the other side of the jogging track drew Ranma's attention. Ranma looked up in time to see people running in every direction and another of those goofy woman-monsters like the one that had attacked him that morning. Ranma hopped to his feet and took off towards the monster at a run. He crossed the intervening distance in a matter of seconds and jumped into the daimon with a drop kick. The blow caught the daimon by surprise and it dropped its victim, rolling down the gentle incline towards the small pond in the center of the park. Ranma kippuped back to his feet and turned to the young man that the daimon had dropped and shouted, "Get out of here before that thing gets back up."  
  
The young man nodded and wasted no time scrambling to his feet and running like hell. Ranma turned back to the pond as the daimon was slowly getting back to her feet, shaking her head to clear it. It saw its target fleeing and made a move to catch it, but Ranma launched himself at it again, throwing a quick series of punches to its chest before dropping under its return swing with a leg sweep, tripping it yet again. This time, it rose with a growl and a slot in its midsection opened up. "Printer!" it shouted as sheets of paper launched from the slot at Ranma. He dodged around the best he could, but several of them still nicked him, causing superficial cuts on his arms and legs.  
  
"Damn, and this was one of my nicer outfits too, " Ranma grumbled as he dove out of the way of another round of paper flechettes. He winced as some of the paper sliced through a tree trunk, sending the tree crashing down. Better not let that thing get a good hit in, Ranma thought as he continued to run circles around the daimon. "You know, you're pretty weak compared to that one that showed up this morning," Ranma said conversationally as he danced around the missiles. "What's wrong, quality control not doing its job? How'd someone like you get set loose? Were they desperate?"  
  
The daimon screamed in rage as Ranma taunted her abilities and sent more paper at him. The daimon was getting frustrate with her lack of progress against this pathetic human. How was he able to avoid her memo attack? Well, he would pay for interfering with her mission and letting her target get away. She halted her attack for a moment, filling her queue with paper as she prepared for her ultimate attack.  
  
As soon as the daimon stopped throwing the paper around, Ranma knew that trouble was brewing, but a glimmer of an idea popped into his head and he rushed the daimon, body-checking her. Unprepared for such a direct assault, the daimon was sent flying into the pond. She sank beneath the surface, leaving Ranma to wonder if he'd finished it off, but then she broke the surface with a scream and jumped towards Ranma.  
  
"Office Blizzard!" she shouted, throwing its hands up for dramatic effect. When nothing happened, the daimon sweatdropped and quickly reached down to pull open a tray on her side. She looked down at it and gasped. That pathetic human had gotten all her paper wet and jammed her up! How dare he! Ranma watched the daimon try to scoop a gooey mass out of the tray and was glad he remembered how gelatinous paper got when it got drenched.  
  
"What's wrong," Ranma said with a cocky smile on his face. "Something gumming up the works?" The daimon screamed at him again and abandoned her attempts to clean out the tray to charge at him swinging wildly with her fists. "Whoops, too slow," Ranma said as he ducked under her fists. "Not even close that time."  
  
Ranma continued to dance around the daimon's clumsy attacks, trying to keep from busting a gut. This was the same kind of creature that had beaten him this morning? Impossible. Ranma's attention was so caught up in avoiding the daimon, that he failed to notice a green blur as it tackled him and knocked him out of the way, followed by a shout of "Rainbow Moon Heartache!" There was a flash of light and Ranma could see a giant pink heart smack into the daimon, like what had happened this morning. He struggled against whatever was holding him down and it released him as the daimon screamed, "Lovely!" and turned into a computer printer.  
  
"Get offa me," Ranma growled and the pressure on him suddenly released. He found himself staring up at a very attractive brunette in a stylized green and pink sailor fuku with a very short skirt. "Nice underpants," Ranma commented, eliciting an embarrassed glare as the girl moved away from Ranma and ran off. Ranma got to his feet and saw that whoever had thrown that big attack was long gone. "Wonder if that was one of those Sailor Senshi," he mused. "I bet it's embarrassing to run around in such a short skirt. I wonder why they butted in, it's not like I needed the help."  
  
"As good as you are," came a voice behind him, causing Ranma to whirl around and see another girl in the same kind of uniform. Only this time it was the blonde with the page-bot cut he'd seen that morning. "You're still no match for a daimon. Leave fighting them to us, or you'll wind up getting seriously hurt."  
  
"Is that a threat," Ranma blustered.  
  
"Just a little free advice," the blonde said and jumped up into the trees, disappearing among them in seconds.  
  
"Damn," Ranma said flatly. "She's right. Right now, I can't do much against those things. I just got lucky with this one. But I'll train and I'll get good enough to beat these things on my own, without help from the cheerleaders. Ranma Saotome is the best and he never loses!"  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't believe how rude he was," Makoto complained as she detransformed and joined the others in front of the park bench they sat on. Usagi and Minako had just gotten to the shrine when the Mercury computer had announced its detection of a daimon at the park. They'd transformed and arrived to find Ranma dancing around the daimon, his clothes in tatters and slightly cut up. Jupiter had tackled Ranma out of the way, so Sailor moon could destroy the daimon and she'd expected to be thanked, not insulted.  
  
"He's pretty sensitive right now, Mako-chan," Ami said as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. Makoto put her hand over Ami's and squeezed gently, letting her know that she wasn't really angry. "He's trained his whole life to fight and take care of himself, so he's upset that he can't fight the daimons as well as we can. He's got his pride, Mako-chan."  
  
"I know, Ami-chan," Makoto replied with a sigh. "I know what it's like to lose both your parents so suddenly and have to define yourself by something you do well. That's why I got in so many fights at other schools before I came to Juuban, but that doesn't make him any easier to deal with."  
  
"I think he may just resent the Sailor Senshi, Mako-chan," Ami replied. "We've been saving him at a time when his confidence is at an all time low. It must look to him like there's nothing he can do. Which isn't true. I've never seen a normal person stand up to a daimon like that before."  
  
"That's because you've never seen a real martial artist before," Minako interjected. "I visited some distant relations in the Nerima district last summer and got a real eyeful. They have as much property damage there as we do and no monster attacks. It all comes from martial artists fighting. They're like a dime a quart over there."  
  
"That's a 'dime a dozen', Minako-chan," Ami said with a sigh.  
  
"Anyway," Minako continued, oblivious to the correction, "Some of those martial artists are pretty powerful and they could probably give us a real run for our money. We've got power in our Senshi forms, but no real style or technique. It's kinda like cutting something or smashing it. We smash, they cut."  
  
All the girls looked at Minako in surprise. They hadn't expected such a coherent line of reasoning to come from the usually airheaded blonde. Finally, Rei said, "All right, who are you and what have you done with Minako-chan?"  
  
"What? I'm not as smart as I look," Minako said indignantly.  
  
Everyone groaned again, all thoughts of Minako having been replaced by someone who looked the same, but was much more intelligent ceased. "I think you mean that you're not as stupid as you look, don't you Minako- chan," Usagi asked.  
  
"Isn't that what I said," Minako asked, her eyes shining with blissful ignorance.  
  
A chorus of groans was all that answered her.  
  
* * *  
  
Dr. Mizuno sighed in relief when she heard Ranma announce his arrival. She'd heard what had happened at school and she was glad it hadn't been more serious than it had been. Several times in the past, the monster attacks had proven lethal. She came out of the kitchen, and gasped in shock as she took in Ranma's tattered appearance.  
  
"What happened," Dr. Mizuno said as she steered him into the living room and sat him down.  
  
"Nothing big," Ranma replied non-chalantly, "just a few dozen paper cuts. I ran into one of them monsters in the park this afternoon and it cut me up a bit."  
  
"You weren't in danger like this morning," Dr. Mizuno asked, her voice tinged with worry as she examined the cuts.  
  
"Nah, this one was pretty much a push over," Ranma replied, trying not to wince as Dr. Mizuno's fingers probed one of the deeper gashes. "The one this morning was a lot tougher. I guess you heard about that one, huh?"  
  
"They called me at work to let me know," Dr. Mizuno replied. "It's pretty routine these days to get a call from the school informing you that there was an attack, but every parent is worried when they get a call telling them that their child is the victim."  
  
"I'm sorry ta worry you," Ranma said sincerely. "I just couldn't let Mr. Egawa get attacked by that monster. Besides, I thought I could take it. I guess I was wrong." Ranma was unable to keep a tinge of bitterness out of his voice at that.  
  
"Ranma," Dr. Mizuno said as she moved to sit next to him, "I've never thought highly of your father. I tried not to make a secret of that when you came here, but he did one or two things in his life which earned him some respect. One of those was fathering you. The other was to seal away a set of techniques. Techniques that he felt were too powerful for him to use. He told me that they drew dangerously on his life force, his ki. He gave them to me for safe keeping and told me not to let anyone unseal them unless the need was great. I think you have a greater need and a greater ability than your father, so I'm going to trust you with them, Ranma, because I think you'll be responsible with them."  
  
Dr. Mizuno got up and moved over to the small shrine in the corner of the room that contained various family members' photos and slid her hand along the bas until there was an audible click and the front panel now showed a small gap. She reached a finger in and slid the panel out of the way an pulled out a cloth wrapped bundle. Closing the hidden panel back up, Dr. Mizuno crossed the room and set the bundle on the table in front of Ranma.  
  
"Ranma," she began, "I want you to promise me that you'll use these to help people. These are a great responsibility and could easily be used to make you profit at the expense of others. Do you promise?"  
  
"Yes, Auntie, I promise," Ranma said with all the solemnity he could muster. Inwardly he was bursting with excitement. I never thought Oyaji would be smart enough to create his own techniques, Ranma thought, much less seal them away. He was never afraid of anything dangerous when I knew him, so these techniques must be really powerful. Ranma carefully opened the bundle and pulled out two tightly wound scrolls, sealed with red wax and bearing Genma Saotome's hanko stamp. Ranma tentatively cracked the seal on the first one and unrolled the scroll. There, in his father's shaky handwriting were the training methods necessary to master a set of techniques. Ranma's eyes skimmed the scroll with enthusiasm, although his face suddenly darkened.  
  
"What's wrong, Ranma," Dr. Mizuno asked.  
  
"I can't use these," Ranma said dispiritedly.  
  
"Why not," Dr. Mizuno asked curiously.  
  
"Because these built on other ki techniques that Oyaji knew," Ranma replied. "Ones he probably would have taught me in a few years. Without him around, it may take years to learn these. I'll have to figure out the basic techniques myself. Unless the teacher that Mr. Hino finds for me can help with them."  
  
"Mr. Hino offered to find you a teacher," Dr. Mizuno asked, a little surprised. "That's wonderful, Ranma. I seem to remember that he knew some powerful martial artists when he was younger. Of course, he could have just been making up a story, but this could be very good for you."  
  
"I just hope that whoever he finds to help is a decent martial artist," Ranma said. "I really need someone to practice with. I mean you can do kata all you want, but you only improve by fighting someone else."  
  
"What about a dojo in the area," Dr. Mizuno asked.  
  
"Nah," Ranma replied. "I checked that out earlier. None of the dojos in the area have got anyone that can give me much of a challenge. I need someone as good as or better than me to fight against or I'll never get better."  
  
"This may be an awkward question, Ranma," Dr. Mizuno aid hesitantly, "but what do you want to do with your life? Do you want to continue in martial arts and maybe teach, or is there something else you'd like to try?"  
  
"Dunno," Ranma said, his lips pursed in thought. "All I've ever really known is martial arts, but I don't know how good of a teacher I'd make. I mean, all I have to go by are Oyaji's whacked out training ideas to go by. I don't know how to teach someone without putting them through things that could kill 'em."  
  
"Maybe if you find someone more reasonable to train with," Dr Mizuno began, "you'll be able to learn how to teach the skills without risking serious injuries to your students."  
  
"Maybe," Ranma admitted grudgingly. "And maybe not. I just hope I don't wind up with some old guy that'd blow away with the first stiff breeze."  
  
"I have a feeling that won't be a problem, Ranma," Dr. Mizuno said, standing up. "Now why don't you put those scrolls somewhere safe and come help me with dinner?" Ranma smiled at his aunt and wrapped the scrolls back up, before running up the stairs to his room.  
  
* * *  
  
Grandfather Hino sat at his writing desk and considered the sheet of paper in front of him. He knew Ranma was special and a certain old friend of his was sure to be able to give him some help, or at least send an advanced student to help. He picked up his brush, dipping it carefully in the ink before he started writing:  
  
Dear Master Juubei…. 


	9. chapter 8

Dreams of Destiny  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Ranma tugged at the stiff collar of his uniform in frustration. While Mr. Tanaka had agreed to allow Ranma some dispensations about the school uniform, the jacket and shirt were something he stood firm on. If they were big enough for his male form, they would fit his female form. He was allowed to wear his silk, drawstring kung fu pants, since those would be much easier to adjust than the slacks that the male students normally wore and he was permitted a special undershirt. Ranma had been extremely embarrassed and had tried to get out of wearing it, but his aunt's arguments had persuaded him that the elastic, skin tight undershirt would be a necessity. Unless Ranma wanted to wear a sports bra that is. After trying the undershirt on and changing to his girl side, Ranma was forced to admit that the tight shirt gave him a great deal more support and kept his chest from flopping around uncontrollably when he worked out.  
  
Ranma sighed as he unbuttoned the collar of his jacket. Even though the clerk at the uniform shop had sworn it was his size and that he looked very good in it, the collars still made him feel like someone was strangling him. Loosening the collar and unbuttoning the top two buttons of the white dress shirt underneath made Ranma much more comfortable and he hitched his bag up on his shoulder. His aunt had taken him on a whirlwind shopping trip the night before that still left Ranma a little breathless. He'd never known how many things people his age were supposed to need. He'd always gotten along with the bare minimum and never really thought about what the other kids had. Until last night.  
  
Ranma had expected the trip to the bookstore at the school to but his textbooks and school supplies and had though the trip would end with the subsequent stop at the uniform shop. But his aunt had then taken him all over the shopping district, loading him down with bags as she bought him what she considered the necessities. She'd bought him a laptop computer and printer, more clothes than he thought he'd ever wear(including some things for his girl side that he privately swore he'd rather die than wear), a small stereo system and a cell phone. Ranma's head had been spinning as his new room suddenly became crowded with possessions and his aunt had dropped her final surprise. She was giving him an allowance! Ranma had never had anyone willing to give him money before. He'd earned a little here and there at times when he was younger, but Oyaji had always stolen it to go get drunk. Now he'd be able to buy things he liked, if he wanted to, or even go out and get a snack after school. This was great!  
  
Ranma was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he really didn't notice the sprinklers come on as he walked under them, shrinking him down into his other form. Absently, his hand tightened the drawstring on the pants and he walked on, oblivious.  
  
* * *  
  
Kaolinite stood in the middle of the lab, fuming. Everywhere she turned, someone was interfering and making her plans go wrong. She wasn't gathering crystals and it was making her look bad in front of the Professor. Before it had always been the fault of those annoying Sailor brats, now there was a new factor in the game. That annoying little boy had distracted her daimon from the art teacher and prevented the daimon in the park from confronting its target. Somehow, he'd managed to avoid the daimon's attacks and delay it long enough for the Sailors to destroy it. As the leader of the Witches 5, Kaolinite found these failures horribly embarrassing. Perhaps it was time for a new tactic, and she knew just who to test it out on.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma stifled a yawn as he packed up his books. There was no doubt about it. No matter how much he enjoyed learning new things, school was still boring. He had always wondered how the teachers could take fascinating material in the textbooks and make it something that could put you to sleep. Ranma stretched his arms, feeling his shoulders pop as tension was released, before picking up his bag. Heading out the door, he couldn't help but notice the stares he was getting from his classmates. The girls in his class had seemed eager to get to know Ranma for some reason Ranma couldn't fathom. At least they had until one of them had tripped, accidentally spilling her cold drink on Ranma and triggering the change. Since then, most of the class had kept their distance, almost as if they were afraid. There were a few guys in his class that talked to him, but they were more interested in the athletic ability he had evidenced in gym class and in getting him on their sports teams.  
  
At least they still talk to me, Ranma thought despondently as he walked down the hall. I suppose I can't blame them for treating me as a freak. This curse isn't something they'll ever accept, I guess. He descended the stairs and exited the school, lost in thought. Luckily, his danger sense made him stop, just as something impacted the ground in front of him., pushing up the air in a dust cloud. Ranma looked forward in shock as the dust settled revealing a figure.  
  
A burly young man rose from where he'd been crouching in the center of a newly formed crater. Ranma looked at him and something tickled at the back of his mind. He knew this guy from somewhere, but where?  
  
"Ranma Saotome," the figure yelled, "prepare to die, you coward!"  
  
"Who the hell are you calling a coward, you psycho," Ranma yelled back.  
  
The figure stared at Ranma in surprise for a moment before replying, "You ran out on our man to man fight. You ran like a little girl and I'm going to make you pay." He rushed forward, pulling an umbrella off the top of his backpack and swinging it at Ranma  
  
Ranma ducked under the swing and frowned in thought. Who is this guy, he thought, and why is he so angry with me? He said something about running out on a fight, but I've never run from a fight before. What the hell is he talking about? Ranma ducked and wove around the furious blows that the strange young man was throwing at him. The fight moved across the schoolyard as the mysterious stranger chased Ranma, while he dodged the blows with ease.  
  
"Who are you anyway," Ranma asked in annoyance. "You show up like this saying that I ran out on a fight with you, but I have no idea who the hell you are."  
  
"You dare to forget me," the young man snarled. "Me, your greatest rival!?"  
  
"You'd think I'd remember my greatest rival," Ranma remarked offhandedly as he dodged a particularly vicious swipe.  
  
The young man growled and began an even more furious series of blows which ended up completely missing Ranma, but pulverized a section of the wall around the school. As the dust settled, the few students who hadn't run at the first sign of trouble (which was considered a survival trait in Juuban, after all those who didn't run from monsters wound up being monster food), gasped at the strength of the blow. "I can't believe you, Ranma," the young man said. "Not only did you run out on our fight, you've completely forgotten who I am. You're a disgrace to the martial arts!"  
  
"Take that back," Ranma snarled and finally attacked. He launched a series of blows at the young man, knocking him back and destroying even more of the wall. "I'm a disgrace to the martial arts? Who's the one that attacked someone out of no where? Who's the one who isn't worrying about innocent bystanders?"  
  
The stranger stood up, unfazed by breaking through the wall and laughed. "An honorless dog like you has no call to say things like that," he shouted. He was about to charge when a strange noise made him pause. Everyone looked around for the source of the noise and saw a red haired woman floating above them. The rest of the students saw the better part of valor and fled the scene. Ranma and the stranger looked up at the interruption in annoyance. Ranma noticed that the noise was caused by three small object buzzing around her in a circle.  
  
"What the hell do you want," Ranma yelled, frustrated. He knew this wasn't going to end well for anyone. The woman just smiled and two of the objects veered off from their course and darted to nearby objects. One hit a bicycle causing the bicycle to warp into one of those ridiculous woman-like monsters that had bothered Ranma before. The other hit a water fountain and likewise became a woman-like creature. They screamed and ran at Ranma, obviously intent on harm.  
  
Ranma ducked under the chain that the bike woman threw at him and was hit by a stream of water from the other who'd anticipated the move. The chain swung back in an arc and wrapped itself around Ranma, whom the daimon reeled in to her. The transformation had occurred as the daimon reeled Ranma in and it let out a screech of surprise at finding a girl in its chain instead of a man.  
  
"What I want," the red haired woman said, "is for you to cease being an interference to our plans. You have stopped two daimons from capturing their targets. You are an annoyance, however skilled you may be and I don't like to be annoyed. Bicyclia, Crush this insignificant worm!"  
  
* * *  
  
Ami raced along the rooftop as Sailor Mercury. School had just let out when her computer had detected the energy signature of a daimon at the high school. She pushed the emergency call button on her communicator and transformed, only to have her computer inform her that a second daimon had formed. Ami had stopped and stared at the computer in shock. Never had the Deathbusters sent more than one daimon at a time. Ami felt a wave of fear settle in her bones as she realized that the Deathbusters could easily overwhelm them if they ever managed to mass produce their daimons.  
  
Up ahead she saw Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus and waved to them. They merged their paths and Ami called out to them, "There are two daimons at the high school. We'll have to try and split them up." The other two Sailor Senshi nodded and they continued on their course.  
  
The streets around the high school were deserted as the three made their way over the school wall, except for the two daimons, a young man they didn't recognize, a redheaded girl they recognized as Ranma wrapped up in a bicycle chain and Kaolinite. It was rare for the Senshi to ever see Kaolinite sticking around during a fight.  
  
Jupiter powered up to blast the daimon holding Ranma when Mercury grabbed her by the arm. "Don't," she said. "It's got him by that chain. You'll electrocute Ranma." Jupiter nodded and They turned to Venus. "You'll have to cut him out with your Crescent beam."  
  
Mercury was cut off as a blast of water knocked her off her feet and sent her skidding off the wall as the other daimon took advantage of their uncertainty to attack. Venus rushed to try and save Ranma, but the second daimon intercepted her with a blast of water as well, sending her skidding back along with Mercury.  
  
Jupiter rushed at the daimon, but it flowed out of the way like water. Literally. It seemed to dissolve into a puddle of water and then rose up to surround Jupiter in a thin film of water. Jupiter struggled against the daimon, but couldn't seem to do anything. Mercury looked across the yard and saw that Ranma was slowly being constricted as well. She turned to Venus, who was just getting to her feet and said, "You help Ranma, I'll help Jupiter."  
  
"I don't think I'll need to," Venus said, pointing at the daimon holding Ranma. "Look!"  
  
Ami turned and saw Ranma suddenly drop to the ground, the chains tumbling free as if cut and another boy standing there with what looked like a belt standing straight up in his hand. What in the world?  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma tumbled to the ground and stared up in shock as the young man who had attacked him before finished chopping the chains into confetti . with his belt? Ranma rolled to his feet, pulling the drawstring tight to keep his pants up.  
  
"No one kills Ranma but me, old woman," the young man screamed as he began to lay into the daimon with his make-shift blade. Ranma stared hard and suddenly something came into focus. He could see a very slight aura around the young man and he was channeling it into the belt, making it as strong as steel. Which gave Ranma an idea. He pulled his shirt off and quickly roe it into strips. Carefully tapping into the slight aura he could produce, Ranma duplicated the pattern he saw the other boy using and poured it into the cloth. Taking the now stiff pieces of cloth, he launched them at the daimon.  
  
The daimon shrieked in pain as seven pieces of hardened cloth pierced her body. She tried to reach to take them out when there was a cry of "Spiral Moon Heart Ache!" and the daimon was hit from behind with a giant heart. It screamed out "Lovely!" before disappearing and leaving one less daimon for them to fight.  
  
While Sailor Moon had destroyed the one daimon, Sailor Mars heated herself up and launched a Burning Mandala at the water enshrouded Sailor Jupiter. Mercury cried out as she saw her friend about to get flambéed by a teammate, but stopped when she saw how precisely the attack had been aimed. The rings of fire missed Jupiter's body by millimeters, but caused portions of the daimon to evaporate. The water streamed away from Jupiter, letting her fall to the ground gasping for breath.  
  
Mars kept up the pressure, blasting at the water daimon while Mercury rushed to Jupiter's side. Venus had taken the opportunity to launch her Love-Me Chain at Kaolinite. Kaolinite floated to the side and allowed the chain to pass through empty space.  
  
"It looks like I'll have to take stronger measures," Kaolinite said waving her hand at the last object orbiting her. It took off and charged for a nearby object. It hit the object and caused it to pulse with dark energy as the daimon egg was absorbed. Unfortunately, that nearby object was none other than our mysterious stranger with a grudge against Ranma.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Wow, I haven't touched this story in almost two months, so I figured I'd give you a fight scene and the introduction of one of the cast. We all know that it was Ryouga who showed up, but I'm writing primarily from the character's point of view and Ranma has yet to remember who Ryouga is yet. I'm splitting my time between this one and two others, so I'm not sure how long it will take for chapter nine, but I hope it's not two months. 


	10. chapter nine

Dreams of Destiny  
  
Chapter 9  
  
The stranger screamed as the egg hit his chest and flared with a sickly purple light as the daimon egg disappeared into the young man. He collapsed to the ground, curling himself into a ball as his aura flashed with conflicting colors and whimpering with pain. Everyone stared at him in surprise, especially Kaolinite. She had thought this was supposed to work. After all, the Professor had done a great deal of research on the daimon eggs and there should have been no difference between possessing a person and an object.  
  
The young man managed to pull himself back to his knees and grabbed his head, letting out a scream that could be heard for blocks around. Suddenly, the egg flew out of his chest and smashed against the rubble of the school wall. There was a flash as the egg sank into a piece of the rubble as a blocky figure rose up. As the air cleared, the new daimon roared in rage and swept its arm to clear the rubble from around it. This new daimon was different than the others that the Senshi had seen before. All the others had been female, and were designed around the object they were possessing. This one had no distinctive sex, although it was stockier than the female daimons, and was entirely featureless.  
  
The daimon lumbered forward as the rubble flew away and Sailor Mercury noticed that the strange young man lay unmoving on the ground directly in the daimon's path. Gasping in shock, she started forward, sprinting with all her might to reach the stranger before the daimon trampled him. Mercury stumbled to a halt as she reached the stranger and grabbed him by the shoulders. She dragged him out of the path of the daimon, thankful that the construction of this one made it a slow lumbering hulk.  
  
Mercury's abrupt action broke the paralysis that had gripped the combatants. The watery daimon took the initiative and launched itself in a stream at Sailor Mars. She managed to dive out of the way just in time for the stream of water to fly past. It continued on, barreling straight into the rocky daimon. The viscous fluid spread out over the daimon and seemed to seep into the rock, causing it to glow again briefly. It roared and started to charge forward at the group of Senshi.  
  
"Oh shit," Sailor Jupiter said flatly as she grabbed Sailor Moon, tossing her over her shoulder and breaking into a run. Venus ran off to on of the sides and Ranma went straight up over the monster in a desperate leap. The monster plowed through and started to slow as he made a wide, arcing turn as Ranma hit the ground, tumbling forward in a somersaulting roll.  
  
Venus skidded to a stop, spinning to track the daimon as it made its turn. "Crescent Beam Shower," she called out, causing a barrage of energy beams to lance out from her hand. They struck the monster, rocking it slightly, but it continued to make its ponderous turn mostly unaffected. Venus stared in shock.  
  
Jupiter dropped Sailor Moon unceremoniously on her rump as she turned to face the monster in time to see Venus's ineffective attack. Clapping her hands together, she formed a spaking ball of electricity between them. "Sparkling Wide Pressure," She called out as she lobbed it at the daimon. The ball struck the daimon in the side and electricity arced across the surface before grounding into the earth.  
  
Sailor Moon stared, open-mouthed in shock as two of her comrades most powerful attacks struck the daimon with no notable effects. "Jupiter," she said as she got to her feet, "we have to keep that thing moving. Your attacks can buy me the time to blast it."  
  
"Got it," Sailor Jupiter replied. She took off at a run, cutting across the daimon's path and throwing another ball of electricity at it. While it may not have hurt the daimon, it was enough to catch its attention and make it follow her. "Mars, Venus, we have to keep it moving!"  
  
Sailors Mars and Venus nodded and the giant game of cat and mouse began. One would broil it, electrocute it or just blast it and lead it on a chase until one of the others hit it again. Ranma watched from the sideline with a macabre smile on his face. These girls may not be skilled fighters, but at least they knew how to work together. While the Saotome- ryu of Anything Goes emphasized individual fighting, Ranma'd had many opportunities to see how effective a coordinated group could fight at a couple of the dojos they'd visited. By knowing your teammates well enough, you knew what the others would do in any situation. Ranma had once seen a group of five brown belts defeat eight black belts at a dojo once when one of the new students had questioned the necessity of learning how to work with others.  
  
These Sailor girls were a great example of that idea. Most of them didn't seem to have any real training, although a couple looked like they'd studied a little karate, but they knew each other well enough to make up for their lack. Ranma wondered how long they'd been fighting together. That kind of cohesion didn't come easily, and usually bespoke deep connections between them. Lost in thought, Ranma almost didn't see the monster lash out with an arm as he charged by. He twisted to the side, but wasn't able to completely clear the blow as it grazed his ribs. The force of even that glancing a blow sent Ranma flying back until he impacted with a tree. He slid down to the ground with a groan, clutching his ribs in pain.  
  
Sailor Moon winced as the daimon sent Ranma flying out of the area, but she was glad he was out of danger now. Pulling her rod out, she began calling the power it let her access, keeping a part of her attention on the circle that the others were leading the daimon in. Reaching the end of her preparations, she called out, "Spiral Moon Heart Ache!" and sent the power flowing forth into a giant pink heart at the daimon. She watched as it turned to face the heart, as many monsters had, but was surprised when the heart struck the beast and it shattered instead of moving through him. Cracks appeared in the rock, and chunks had been ripped from the arms and legs, but it was still mostly intact.  
  
Sailor Moon gaped in shock. Her attack had never failed to destroy the daimons, not since she'd first developed the ability to create it. A scream of pain pulled her attention back to the fight. She saw the strange boy who'd attacked Ranma writhing in pain and screaming. What was going on?  
  
* * *  
  
Sailor Mercury gasped as she saw her cousin flung off into a stand of trees and gasped again as Sailor Moon's attack didn't destroy the daimon. Reaching up and tapping her earring brought her visor into existence. With this, she should be able to analyze the daimon and find its weak point. It was hooked directly into the Mercury computer and had proved invaluable in many of their battles.  
  
As she focused in on the daimon, Mercury gasped in shock. No wonder it hadn't been destroyed, she thought. It's drawing power from something to keep its integrity. Mercury searched around the park, trying to find that errant flow of energy that connected with the daimon. She couldn't help but wish that this fight was taking place at night, as so many of their battles did. Energy was so much easier to trace without all the interference caused by the solar radiation of sunlight.  
  
The stranger's scream of pain drew Mercury's gaze to where he lay at her feet, and her jaw dropped in astonishment. She'd never seen anything like this before. The daimon was feeding off him! Somehow, it was tapping into the energy he produced, much like the Dark Kingdom had when they came on energy gathering missions, except she'd never seen this much life energy in a normal person before. As she opened her mouth to call out to Sailor Moon, her visor flashed a new energy source. She looked over to see Ranma, with an energy corona that looked like a city on fire.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma pulled himself to his feet, staggering a little as a wave of pain rushed through him. "Definitely broke a few ribs," he muttered, "but I ain't gonna let no one take me out of a fight that easy." One hand across his damaged ribs, Ranma made his way out of the trees to see the girls still leading the daimon around in circles. The daimon's lumbering gate sparked an idea, so he called out, "Hey, you in the orange skirt, can you use that chain thing and wrap its legs?"  
  
Sailor Venus glanced over at Ranma, startled. She'd thought he was out of this fight, injured, but apparently not. She nodded back at him and as the daimon took off after Sailor Mars, she whipped out her Venus Love Me Chain and sent it arcing at the daimon's knees. It wrapped around them and the daimon's thick legs strained at the links, wobbling as momentum tried to keep it moving forward.  
  
Seeing the bind the daimon was in, Ranma took off at a run. He jumped into the air with a leaping kick that held all the force he could muster. As his foot impacted the daimon's back, it completed the job that the laws of inertia had started. The daimon toppled to the ground, causing a shockwave to travel through the park, making all the Senshi stagger for a moment. Ranma springboarded off the daimon's back into another leap to carry him clear. That wouldn't stop the thing long.  
  
Sailor Venus watched in awe as the daimon plunged into the ground. She managed to keep her feet and her grip on the chain. A quick mental command had the chain start creeping its way around the daimon. She didn't have any illusions about how long it would hold, since she could feel how strong it was straining against them, but she hoped she could hold it for a little while by denying it leverage.  
  
Sailor Mercury snapped her jaw shut as she noticed Sailor Moon preparing to launch another attack. "Sailor Moon," she called out. "Don't attack the daimon! You need to attack him!" Mercury pointed down at the young man writhing at her feet. "It's stealing his energy to keep itself alive. You have to break the connection!"  
  
Sailor Moon nodded and sent another giant heart streaking at the young man as Mercury darted out of the way. It impacted the boy and he froze before slumping unconscious, the pain gone from his features. Meanwhile, the daimon's thrashing had begun to lose power. They were slower and weaker. Mercury nodded at Moon and she sent a final Spiral Moon Heart Ache at the daimon. This time it vanished, leaving a pitcher of water and piece of rubble to divest themselves of daimon eggs.  
  
Ranma staggered past the remains of the daimon, wincing as he jostled his ribs. He got to the strange young man and knelt down, looking at his face intently. Sailor Mercury came up behind him and asked, "Do you know him? He seemed to have some kind of grudge against you."  
  
"I think he's a guy I went to middle school with a couple of years ago," Ranma replied, his brow furrowing. "Ryouga Hibiki if I remember right. I don't know what kind of grudge he'd have. We were friends. I used to walk him home from school to keep him from getting lost. He has the world's worst sense of direction."  
  
"He couldn't be that bad," Sailor Mercury replied.  
  
"Trust me," Ranma replied. "This guy could get lost in a broom closet. We should probably get him somewhere where he can rest easier. Why don't you help me take him home, Ami?"  
  
Sailor Mercury stared at Ranma flabbergasted, while her mouth worked soundlessly. "What are you talking about," she managed to get out. "I'm Sailor Mercury."  
  
"Sure," Ranma said, nodding pleasantly, "but you're also my cousin, Ami. I don't know why no one can see that it's really you. Not much of a disguise after all. I guess it must be the short skirt effect. Come on and help me get him home. He's heavy and my ribs hurt."  
  
Ami nodded wordlessly as she helped Ranma lift the young man and they started off towards the house, all the while her mind racing. Ranma had to be convinced to keep their secret, but how did he see through the magic that had always protected them? How?  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Wow, a six months bout of writer's block has to be one of the nastiest things I've had in a while. Hopefully I'll be writing more often now. 


End file.
